asylum seekers to live in suburbia

BEN HARVEY, STATE POLITICAL EDITOR, The West Australian
January 21, 2011, 2:55 am
Dozens of asylum seekers will be let out of detention centres and resettled in suburban Perth in coming weeks, with local charities and church groups meeting immigration officials yesterday to determine where they can be housed and how much money will be needed to care for them.

The Federal Government said it expected several hundred asylum seekers, mainly unaccompanied children and families deemed "vulnerable", to be living in the Australian community by June.

A significant number were expected to be resettled in WA while their cases were being considered.

The recruitment of WA charities and church groups to help the asylum seekers move out of detention was attacked by the Federal Opposition, which claimed local battler families would have to compete with asylum seekers for housing provided by welfare groups.

"People are right to be worried about the extra pressure this will place on housing," Opposition border protection spokesman Michael Keenan said. "Of course it is going to have a detrimental effect on others who are seeking low-cost accommodation."

Released asylum seekers will not be eligible for State housing and will be given homes found for them by charities, which will scour the private rental market.

They will receive a fortnightly income worth 89 per cent of the equivalent Centrelink benefit.

All expenses associated with resettlement will come from the Immigration Department and will be administered by welfare groups contracted by the Red Cross.

A family of four are likely to receive several hundred dollars a fortnight to pay household bills.

They will be banned from working and will have to report regularly to immigration officials.

Their health needs will be taken care of by staff from the International Health and Medical Service, which holds the government contract, although local GPs are likely to be paid to provide consultations.

Specialist medical services will be paid for by the Federal Government if a doctor believes a referral is necessary.

Children will attend local schools, with Canberra to pay for extra costs incurred, such as language teachers or extra classrooms. Unaccompanied children will be looked after by counsellors from Life Without Barriers, a not-for-profit agency.

A spokeswoman for the Immigration Department said a "carefully managed movement of several hundred people" out of detention would occur between now and June. The cost of caring for people in the community was not much more than having them in low-security detention, she said.

Acting Premier Kim Hames said the State Government had been reassured the program would not affect existing State-funded services and accommodation.

As of January 14, there were 51 asylum seekers living in the Australian community.