The Yarra Ranges Council rejected the Healesville Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR)’s invitation to join other local governments for the national campaign to support people seeking asylum.
The Back Your Neighbour campaign is a unified voice from local governments, advocating to the federal government to offer pathways to permanency for people seeking asylum, access to essential services and a fair chance for them to fully contribute to society.
The campaign is coordinated by the Mayoral and Councillor Taskforce Supporting People Seeking Asylum, and over 40 councils nationally have joined the taskforce.
Healesville RAR committee member Chris Hodgson said they began to lobby the Yarra Ranges Council to join the campaign towards the end of last year.
“We wrote to the then mayor, Sophie Todorov, in April. The response we received was quite encouraging, and we met with council representatives who advised us on what to do next,” she said.
“The election then followed, so we resumed our lobbying in February this year, writing to councillors Tim Heenan and Fiona McAllister as well as our mayor Jim Child. We received no response from the council despite follow-up phone calls and sending another letter.”
Despite hard efforts by the Healesville RAR, Yarra Ranges Council informed the group that it will not be part of the Back Your Neighbour campaign but keep its “focus very local for now” via an official letter from mayor Cr Jim Child on 22 August.
“Over the past few years, we have increasingly focused on the needs and contributions of our newer refugee communities, and particularly those from the Chin state in Myanmar,” Cr Child said in the letter.
“While a decade ago, we could be characterised as not particularly culturally diverse, our work since to pivot and develop culturally responsive programs has been important. This is complex work with settlement issues such as homelessness, alcohol and other drug use, family violence and youth justice having serious impacts.
“At the same time, the Chin communities have strengths and resilience that Council wants to protect and enhance. Given the resources needed for this grassroots work, Council has decided to maintain that focus for now and ensure officer time and energy can stay on the collective impact work with over 80 stakeholders to make a difference for refugee communities in Yarra Ranges.”
Healesville RAR committee members were disappointed seeing the local council’s response not to join the national campaign.
Ms Hodgson explained the difficulties that people seeking asylum currently face.
She said refugees are people who simply can’t stay in their country of birth for a variety of reasons, war, famine, climate change, persecution, threats to their wellbeing or lives.
“In Australia, one of the major issues of concern relates to the rights of refugees who hold certain types of visas. The system is complex, and there are a lot of different types of visas, so this is a very broad outline,” Ms Hodgson said.
“Under some visas, refugees have no or limited rights to work, no or limited access to Centrelink, and limited access to education. Some of these visas require renewal every three to five years, so that refugees never truly feel settled and have to re-live their experiences every time they re-apply.
“The system is slow, and visa applications and renewals can take a very long time, although there have been improvements in this area. There is a group of refugees who are officially designated as ‘Stateless’, whose Australian-born children are subject to the same visa restrictions as their parents.
“Aside from the problems associated with visas, refugees face significant difficulties with housing, finance, work, education, health, transport and legal issues, all within the purview of local councils to assist with. They require timely, appropriate, culturally sensitive assistance to enable them to find safety, security and opportunities to thrive.”
The Back Your Neighbour campaign is calling on the federal government to do the following six things: Provide everyone with a valid visa with work and study rights, Expand the Status Resolution Support Services program criteria and simplify the application process so that people in need can access affordable health care and other essential services, Ensure a timely and fair application and review for all people applying for refugee protection, Provide people who have been refused a visa to stay in Australia with a fair review, Continue to clear the backlog of applications and appeals, and Provide citizenship opportunities for all people seeking protection from war and conflict.
“At the recent National General Assembly of Local Government held in Canberra, another 70 councils signed up as Friends of the Mayoral and Councillor Taskforce Supporting People Seeking Asylum,” Ms Hodgson said.
Star Mail will introduce local refugees’ stories next week.
