Syrians who have come to Australia by boat and are being held in detention centres are pleading for the Government to accept them as part of its special intake of 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

In early September then-prime minister Tony Abbott announced Australia would settle refugees from Iraq and Syria, who had sought safety in neighbouring countries such as Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.

But Mr Abbott said people who had used people smugglers or gone beyond the first country of refuge would not be considered.

7.30 has identified 17 people who have fled Syria and are being held in detention centres — nine in offshore centres on Nauru and Manus Island.

Most arrived in Australia by boat since July 2013 when the then-Labor government announced it would never resettle any person who came to Australia by using people smugglers, even if found to be genuine refugees.
Syrian asylum seekers already in Australian detention plead to be included in 12,000-people refugee intake - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)