NICK BUTTERLY and ANDREW TILLETT CANBERRA, Australian October 19, 2010, 2:55 am 28 Comments Charity and religious groups say they will struggle to find accommodation for hundreds of asylum-seeker families and children to be released from detention centres because they are already having difficulty finding places for the poor.
Anglicare WA chief executive Ian Carter said Perth housing was "overloaded" and there was about 50,000 people on the State housing waiting list.
He said clients who turned to welfare groups for help to secure private housing also faced long waiting periods, with some homeless people waiting for two years.
"The sentiment of not having children in detention centres is one we applaud, but the pragmatic element is they will be moving people into communities that are already struggling," Mr Carter said.
He said it might be better if many of the families were put in regional towns where there was available housing and where the locals might welcome extra people, such as areas in the Wheatbelt.
"The 'house full' sign is up and it has been for some time in Perth," he said.
Coalition for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees chairwoman Rosemary Hudson Miller said many welfare groups had little choice but to rely on the private market to find houses for needy people, despite expensive rents.
She agreed it was likely many asylum-seeker children and families would be resettled in other cities or regional areas instead of Perth.
"Accommodation has been at a premium in Perth for a long time," she said.
It is understood rental housing would be sought by the charity groups only as a last resort and for the most part asylum seekers would be placed in disused nursing homes, boarding houses and homes formerly used by clergy.
No details were available for exactly how many children and family groups were likely to be placed in WA. Those held in community detention would likely have curfews and be supervised if interacting with locals. However, children would be able to attend school.
Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison refused to say if he supported the plan to move children out of detention, despite that just days ago he had been working with the Greens to confront the Government on the issue.
Mr Morrison said the Government's decision to build new camps appeared to be a kind of "regional stimulus program".
