By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
A SIGNIFICANT slab of the state’s population will be represented in Greater Dandenong’s campaign for asylum seekers, says proponent Roz Blades.
Last week councillor Blades said 12 councils had indicated their backing for the joint statement which calls for more federal resources to clothe, feed and shelter asylum seekers living in the community.
Cr Blades said the signing-on of three peak-bodies – the Refugee Council of Australia, Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria and Municipal Association of Victoria – would also bear significant weight.
“They are representing a huge amount of people across all council areas,” Cr Blades said.
A delegation is expected to visit Canberra to deliver the statement to the Federal Government early next year.
The push was motivated by charities, volunteers and welfare agencies becoming stretched by the growing numbers of community-based asylum seekers, many of whom were banned from working.
“We don’t have anything to do with the politics of how and why (asylum seekers) get here,” Cr Blades said.
“They’re here and we have to look after them.”
During the year the council launched an asylum-seeker and refugee communities action plan.
The plan tackles issues such as social inclusion, housing access, employment and meaningful activity.
As part of the plan, the council set up an advisory group of service providers, volunteers, councillors, council staff and members of asylum seeker and refugee communities.
In August the City of Greater Dandenong held an inter-council forum to which it invited representatives of all Victorian municipalities.
At the time Cr Blades said the said the forum had been the “most collaborative thing by different councils on one issue I’ve seen in 23 years“.
