Churches and charity services are overwhelmed with people seeking financial help to pay for housing, food, energy bills and medical services.
One of the groups with nowhere to turn but to churches and community charities are the 15,000 people – including children, the elderly, people with disabilities - who are waiting for their refugee visa status to be assessed in Australia.
Since 2016, the Government assistance has been cut to just 1,600 people receiving a meagre living allowance, some casework support and some trauma counselling.
At the current time over 13,000 people are facing destitution, malnutrition, homelessness and serious health issues, unable to work and no means of financial support available. Their children have access to school but not past year 12 whatever their results.
In these hard times for all Australians, when the cost of living is making it difficult for all households to make ends meet so that rent, food, bills and medicines can be paid for, we need the 15,000 asylum seekers to have access to a fair safety net to help them stay out of destitution and homelessness. Teachers and community workers are also worried about malnutrition in this group.
The Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce is asking us to stand up to ensure that those people in our community who are seeking protection as refugees in Australia can access an income safety net.
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“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (cf Matthew 25:40) |
Contact Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and remind them that this Government promised to provide people seeking asylum “appropriate social services, including income ... during the assessment of the claim for protection.”
Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce (ACRT) is an activity of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA).
We believe our faith calls us to welcome the stranger and care for the people who find themselves displaced, marginalised or homeless, and those in need of protection. We want to see a compassionate and generous response to welcoming refugees into Australia.
