20th August, 2014
Christian groups have welcomed news that up to 150 asylum seeker children aged under 10 held in mainland residential detention will be released into the community.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison announced on Tuesday, 19th August, that the government would be releasing more than 1,500 children into the community with their families under bridging visas. They include 150 children who have been held in mainland detention centres while the rest have been held in community detention. All of the children affected are aged under 10 years and arrived in Australia before 19th July last year. Three hundred children held on Nauru and Christmas Island will not be released.
Lyle Shelton, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, welcomed the news but urged the government to speed up the processing of asylum seekers’ claims. He said mandatory detention was "no environment for the weak and the vulnerable to be in long term".
Mr Shelton added that the inability of asylum seekers to find work was "demoralising and demeaning" and said a better way to process asylum seekers and resettle refugees needed to be found. But he added that he "reluctantly" supported offshore processing as a means of stopping people smugglers and preventing deaths at sea.
Mr Shelton also urged the federal government to increase Australia’s humanitarian intake from 13,750, saying this was particularly urgent "given the sheer number of people fleeing persecution in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks".
Mr Morrison announced on Sunday that Australia had allocated 2,200 places for Iraqis and 2,200 places for Syrians fleeing the violence engulfing their countries under the humanitarian refugee program.
Meanwhile, Sue King, director of advocacy and research at Anglicare Sydney, earlier this week described Mr Morrison’s decision to release the asylum seeker children as a "common sense and compassionate response".
Ms King also welcomed news that families would received increased support to help them settle and integrate into their new community but said it would be challenging for them to find affordable, sustainable housing on supported income and without employment rights.
– DAVID ADAMS
