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7,000 Syrian refugees headed for Liverpool?
Residents of the Liverpool and Holsworthy areas have raised concerns over a report stating that some 7,000 Syrian refugees are to be settled in their neighbourhood.
Several concerned residents have contacted Liana Allan, Convenor of Migration Alliance on the matter saying that they are angry, scared and concerned why the refugees are not being dispersed across NSW.
Some residents told the Migration Alliance that they are concerned about the 7,000 refugees being condensed into their geographic area and wanted to know why they aren’t being spread out across NSW or the country. Residents are concerned about the lack of consultation and transparency in the resettlement matter.
Migration Alliance raised the issue with Mayor of Liverpool City Council, Ned Mannoun, who indicated that despite efforts to garner information on the issue, his office has received ‘no formal notification’ of the resettlement numbers.
Mayor Mannoun told MA that he is concerned that current infrastructure cannot cope with the sudden influx of people and has called for greater investment in South Western Sydney.
“South Western Sydney is the fastest growing area in Sydney with an extra 300,000 moving here by 2031. That’s roughly 20,000 people per year. There needs to be a massive investment from all levels of government to deal with the growth,” said Mayor Mannoun.
“We need upgraded roads to deal with traffic, quicker train connections to the City and Parramatta to encourage people out of their cars an into trains…expanded government services, better parks and recreation facilities…” said the Mayor.
Western Sydney was the destination for 1380 refugees out of 2252 last year, according to media reports. If those proportions follow, then the area is likely to see over half of the 12,000 Syrians Australia has agreed to grant refuge resettled there.
NSW Coordinator-General for Refugee Resettlement, Professor Peter Shergold, has so far only provided broad guidelines on the resettlement policy and said he expected that refugees who already had familial ties in NSW would want to settle where they had family or community support. However, he noted that as the refugee applications are still being processed, he does not know the extent to which they will have family here who will be able to offer at least temporary accommodation support.
While a few hundred refugees may arrive this year, the NSW government is expecting that the majority will arrive in stages throughout 2016. Victoria is expected to house some 4,000 Syrian refugees.
“Parramatta just received $1.5 billion from the NSW Government for light rail, a new stadium, and a new Arts centre,” noted Mayor Mannoun and added, “If we don’t have a plan or lobby we won’t get anything and won’t have anything for our current and massively growing community…”
Further news re 7,000 Refugees to the Liverpool area:
Comments
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Friday, 16 October 2015Response from Federal Government today to my email on this issue:
Decisions on where people will be resettled have not been made because we are only starting to process applications in the Middle East. Minister for Social Services Christian Porter put out a news release earlier this week that addressed the rumours circulating in various Australian communities. In that release he said:
“People who come to Australia as part of the intake will be settled in both metropolitan and regional areas. The Government is in the process of determining exactly where, and discussions are continuing between Commonwealth, state and territory and local governments.”
His full news release is here:
http://christianporter.dss.gov.au/media-releases/response-to-syrian-humanitarian-crisis -
Saturday, 17 October 2015considering today is the funeral service of Mr. Chen, I say [with some exceptions] Lock up your daughters!!
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Wednesday, 02 December 2015
Well I hope they are spread all across Sydney, rather than focused in one central region, that is asking for trouble because they will be discriminated even within their own community. This will lead to chaos and violence and factions formed. For those who support the increased influx of refugees, they should volunteer to house some of these people who are seeking refuge. All I hear are these guys who live in the Eastern Suburbs making decisions for the rest of Australians. Easy to say to located them in Metropolitan and regional areas, but I bet my money on Fairfield/Liverpool, and not Point Piper? Rooms are in abundance in tis area? Double standard?
Immigration blog
On 9 September 2015, the Australian Government announced that a total of 12,000 humanitarian places would be made available for those who have been displaced by conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Priority will be offered to refugees who are deemed most vulnerable, in particular women, children and families and persecuted minorities who have the least prospect of returning safely to their homes.
These 12,000 permanent places for people displaced by conflicts in Syria and Iraq will be in addition to the 13,750 places available under Australia’s 2015–16 Humanitarian Programme. Humanitarian entrants settled in Australia are permanent residents and as such have access to Medicare and income support benefits as any other Australian citizen or permanent resident. They are also eligible to receive English language training, torture and trauma counselling and a range of settlement services that are managed by the Department of Social Services (DSS).
Australia’s approach to the settlement of migrants and humanitarian entrants is based on several key principles, including providing support based on need, fostering participation in Australian society as soon as possible, fostering welcoming communities and drawing on the valuable skills and expertise of civil society to provide services and support.
It is important to remember that these people are seeking refuge from situations of conflict and trauma that many Australians would find hard to imagine. Some may require an extended period of adjustment once they arrive. Our priority will be on supporting them through this time.
Initial settlement support for the first six to 12 months is provided on a needs basis to humanitarian entrants and may include: arrival reception and assistance; assistance with finding accommodation (short and long term); property induction; providing an initial food package and start-up pack of household goods; assistance to register with Centrelink, Medicare, health services, banks and schools; orientation to life in Australia; and linking with community and recreation programmes through the Humanitarian Settlement Services (HSS) programme.
Assisting humanitarian entrants to source suitable accommodation and providing orientation on tenancy rights and responsibilities is a key component of the HSS programme. Accommodation services delivered by HSS service providers have historically managed increases and fluctuations in the Humanitarian Programme. HSS service providers employ a range of accommodation models such as short term arrangements or assisting humanitarian entrants into the private rental market. Offers to house new arrivals within private homestay arrangements will therefore not be needed.
These services are designed to provide humanitarian entrants with the assistance they need to build a life in Australia. They aim to assist clients to become self-reliant and participate equally in Australian society and minimise longer-term reliance on support services.https://www.dss.gov.au/.../syrian-iraqi-humanitarian-crisis