I agree with you I do not think it should be at once but, in less time frame than two years.
Government can make a deal with the refugees to send them to work in the labor work, where there is lack or workers, such as, Christchurch to help in the re built and pay them slightly less than the normal worker but not to the stage that it will make them have a poor life.

From a personal point of view I would Support the argument. Accepting 600 people over two and half years time is too long for small amount of people. If the country would actually accept more people in short time it will help in raising up the economy. Yes more money will be needed but in the same time there are more hands to help in bringing the country up. All refugees would of course have skills or experiences in various different majors. Such a thing is helpful to have more people. I reckon that Australia and USA are accepting more people is because they are thinking in the right way to develop their country and actually make a use of these people who does not have a place to live.

I do not agree with this statement "America’s greatest ally in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, is continuing its illegal war in Yemen; bombing and starving the Yemenis with arms and logistical support provided by the US".
The war that Saudi Arabia and other countries are having in Yemen are against Rebel which had an agreement with the previous king Ali Saleh in order to have control over Yemen and come to Saudi. One of the main reasons Saudi Arabia started the war was because they started bombing cities in Saudi Arabia and kill civilians which have nothing to do with. On top of that they started crossing the border and kill police officers. Moreover, they stated that they want to have control on Saudi Arabia. No country would go to war and spend all that money for no reason. If you could search Saudi Arabia has always been the first country to send aid and financial support for any country going through problems including Yemen.
Here are some links to support my idea:
1- http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d40980de-aa88-11e3-9fd6-00144feab7de.html#axzz3lxwXODlS
2- https://www.saudiembassy.net/affairs/recent-news/foreign-aid/
3- http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/783426
4- http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/01/201311764936719632.html
5- http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/06/yemen-saudi-arabia-iran-houthis-support-military.html#