Assuring backbenchers it has the problem under control, the Prime Minister's Office blames Labor for granting 6900 visas to asylum seekers who came by air in the three years to 2013, compared with 4780 visas under the Coalition over the past three years. "The government is focusing resources both on and offshore to prevent unmeritorious protection claims," the talking points say. "This includes through enhancements to our intelligence systems and operational activity." But Labor home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally disputed the 6900 claim and said the government was relying on false numbers to make its case.

The Labor analysis of immigration data finds that 4548 plane arrivals were granted protection in the three financial years to the end of June 2013, just before the election later that year. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age revealed last week that about 80 people had arrived by air every day since the start of July and claimed protection after landing at an Australian airport. The number of asylum seekers who arrived by air climbed from 8562 in the 2015 fiscal year to 12,673 in 2016, 18,267 in 2017 and 27,884 in 2018. It fell to 24,520 in the year to June 2019. While the daily rate of applications since July puts the government on track for 29,000 claims for asylum this financial year, the Prime Minister's Office is telling backbenchers the numbers will fall. "In 2018-19, the number of onshore protection claims fell by 12 per cent, a result of the government's focus on stopping unmeritorious claims," the talking points say.

Loading "This number is continuing to decline at similar rate this program year-to-date. "People who arrive by air, do so with valid travel and identity documents. We know who they are. They are not putting their lives at risk, or the lives of their children at risk, by getting on a boat." On Assange and his fight against extradition from Britain to the United States, the briefing to MPs says the Australian government cannot interfere in another country's legal process just as another country cannot interfere in ours. "We appreciate that some members of the public feel very strongly about Mr Assange's situation but it is important to remember that Australia cannot intervene in the legal processes of another country," the briefing says.

Loading While former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has warned against Assange's extradition, the Prime Minister's Office says only that the WikiLeaks founder will be entitled to "due process including legal representation" in the process. On the Turkish invasion of north-eastern Syria, the talking points repeat Prime Minister Scott Morrison's comment last week that he was "deeply troubled" by the military advance. "We recognise Turkey has legitimate domestic security concerns but unilateral cross-border military action will not solve these concerns," the talking points say. On Ms Liu, the government praises the Victorian Liberal MP for spending a "considerable amount of time" in the past three weeks reviewing her associations after media reports about her links to Communist Party of China organisations.