Wyndham council has joined a growing number of its Victorian counterparts in voicing concern and support for asylum seekers living in the community.
At the request of the City of Greater Dandenong council, Wyndham council co-signed a statement urging the federal government to provide adequate resources to welfare groups charged with helping asylum seekers.
Mayor Peter Maynard said local services were under great strain trying to ensure the basic needs of asylum seekers were met.
“The joint statement does not take a position on immigration policy, but, rather, what it does do is look at the facts,” Cr Maynard said.
“And the facts are very clear. Over the past two and a half years, as federal immigration policies have changed, increasing numbers of asylum seekers are living in the community while they wait for their claims for refugee status to be assessed.
“There is a maze of different rights for asylum seekers. Very few have work rights, some have nothing and the maximum an asylum seeker can receive is 89 per cent of a Centrelink payment. That is $267 a week at the most, an amount mandated by the federal government.
“The end result is that local service providers, such as UnitingCare Werribee Support and Housing, are left to plug the gap. It’s another case of cost-shifting,” Cr Maynard said.
He said the government should make up the funding shortfall because, without extra money and resources, welfare groups would struggle to help others in the community in need.
Wyndham’s decision to sign the statement was not backed by all councillors, with Heather Marcus voting against signing the document, while Gautam Gupta abstained from voting.
Cr Marcus said it was more important for the council to advocate for the needs of asylum seekers. To date, 12 other councils, including Ballarat, Moreland and Moonee Valley, have endorsed the Greater Dandenong statement.
