Country Towns & Asylum Seekers…A ‘Positive’ At Leonora, WA

The remote WA mining town of Leonora has hosted 150 asylum seekers for around 18 months now, in disused miners’ accommodation. Student numbers at the local district school have risen 25% with 53 refugee children.

More Students So NOW More Resources

Back in July 2010 one school mother commented that finally the school was receiving the resources they had been needing for a long time, including 7 more teachers.

“The school can (now) offer a broader curriculum with more educational opportunities”, says Larry Hamilton, from the WA Dept of Education.

NB Four other country town have asked the Leonora Shire President Jeff Carter about the process of entering into such an arrangement.

“Mandatory Detention Violates Human Rights”

Jeff Carter believes the system of indefinite mandatory detention of asylum seekers..

• violates human rights
• is a form of child abuse
• wastes money

The AMA has also stated that,

“detaining children and families for long periods was akin to child abuse.”

The Leonora Community And Refugee Teenagers

Jeff says the Leonora community will welcome the teenagers coming to them.

“The people I’ve spoken to feel sorry for these children…

If you’re 14 years of age and you’ve got no family and you’re in a place that you’ve never seen before, so it must be a bit frightening for them..

For the town itself, hosting an immigration detention facility has been positive..

It’s brought money into the town for businesses..

The refugees used the oval and some went to church..

The kids at school got to meet a wider variety of ethnic backgrounds, and maybe appreciate a bit more some of the trauma these people have been through to get to Australia.”

The Current Situation

At the moment there are just over 4800 people in detention – 3445 men, 512 women and 848 children. It seems:

• Mandatory detention will effectively be abolished
• Asylum seekers will be detained for short periods for an initial security and health check and then released into the community on bridging visas
• Severely traumatised people will not be sent to regional areas because most towns do not have trauma counselling services
• Families are expected to be prioritised for fast-tracking into residential housing

What Happens Overseas

More than half of Sweden’s asylum applicants live in hosted homes with family, friends or approved carers while their claims are assessed.

Canada also has a system of foster care with access to health care and work rights immediately.

2009 Advice To Parliamentary Committee

The Refugee and Immigration Legal Service and Catholic groups suggested in submissions to a 2009 inquiry by the joint standing committee on migration that home stays could be used more widely to help more people avoid psychologically damaging long stays in detention.

The New System

• Bridging visas will mean that ‘boat people’ will be treated in the same way as those arriving by plane on another visa
• They will lodge a refugee claim only after reaching Australia
• They will have access to Medicare and may be granted work rights or welfare payments of $216 a week for singles or $285 a week for families

Home Hosting A Possibility Here?

If the number of arrivals proves overwhelming, it appears the government may consider cheaper alternatives to community detention, such as asking Australian families to host asylum seekers.

A Candid Observation From Leonora Shire President, Jeff Carter

Click here, then click ‘audio’ for an honest, human observation of the situation.

Will the politicking over human tragedy now end?