The Federal government's decision to cut down our intake of African refugees has been made using an unprecedented rationale – Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews says it is because they are having too many difficulties integrating into our society. If I had been forced to come here from a war-torn or impoverished country with little grasp of English and few family supports, I expect I would need a lot of help to settle in, find housing, employment, social supports and to learn the language. Instead of deciding who to accept on the basis of need, as per the United Nations refugee convention, this heartless government is blaming the refugees themselves for the government's inability to support them in our communities. As a well-off country, we have the capacity to take in and support many times more refugees than we are currently accepting.
Susan Austin
Socialist Alliance candidate for Denison
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