By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A “powerful” joint statement by 18 Victorian councils opposing imminent cuts to asylum-seekers’ income support has apparently failed to move the Federal Government.
Greater Dandenong mayor Youhorn Chea said the statement drafted at a mayoral roundtable at Dandenong Civic Centre on 31 July was a “powerful show of support” for people seeking asylum and refugees.
It was a collective call for the Australian Government to urgently reverse its plans to remove potentially thousands of asylum seekers from $35-a-day Status Resulation Support Services payments.
In Greater Dandenong, there are 2000 residents seeking asylum. The forum was told that most of them were likely to be affected, starting from this month.
“We are all very concerned for the welfare of people seeking asylum and the impact these changes will have, not only financially, but also on their health and wellbeing,” Cr Chea said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs responded to Star News that the SRSS program “is not a social welfare program”.
“It is designed to provide short-term, tailored support to those who have demonstrated barriers to resolving their immigration status.
“Individuals on a bridging visa with work rights, and who have the capacity to work, are expected to support themselves while their immigration status is being resolved.“Assessments of recipients eligibility are underway.”
Greater Dandenong councillor Matthew Kirwan said it was a “very disappointing response” to a change that had “devastating real life impact”.
“SRSS was always a welfare program. It was bi-partisan.”
The program was established because “very vulnerable” asylum seekers were unable to access other forms of Government support such as NewStart and Medicare.
They now faced not only a loss of income but no access to a caseworker, torture and trauma counselling, Cr Kirwan said.
“These comments don’t address the reality that people seeking asylum already look for work now.
“Their situation in reality makes them some of the most disadvantaged job seekers in the market – given the uncertainty regarding how long they will be in Australia employers are very reluctant to employ them and they of course have other challenges like language in many cases. ”
Mayors from metro and rural Victoria and representatives from the Refugee Council of Australia, Monash Health and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre were involved in the draft statement.
They stated that 4000 children nationally could otherwise suffer, and Australia would be failing to meet its human rights obligations.
It will be tabled at the mayors’ councils for final endorsement.
