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Leading charities and church offer to house unaccompanied asylum seeker children |
| 22 August 2011 |
 MA Media Release, 22 August 2011On the day the full bench of the High Court meets to consider an injunction on the Australian Government's "Malaysia solution" for asylum seekers, two of the nation's leading community service organisations, Baptcare and Mission Australia, have jointly called for unaccompanied asylum seeker children to be allowed to stay in the country. Both organisations recently announced their support of Melbourne's Crossway Baptist church and it's offer to government to accommodate and care for unaccompanied asylum seeker children – at no cost to taxpayers. Baptcare has offered case management to the families prepared to support the unaccompanied minors as well as individualised support to every child in care. Mission Australia has offered its experience as one of the country's largest providers of homelessness and youth services to support the church with developing procedures to ensure the care of children is delivered at high standards and with cultural sensitivity. "Sending asylum seekers to Malaysia – a country that is not a signatory to the 1951 International Refugee Convention – is a shocking proposal," said Baptcare's Chief Executive, Mr Jeff Davey. "We believe the broader Australian population is not supportive of the deportation of unaccompanied minors. The plan to deport vulnerable and unaccompanied children from Christmas Island to Malaysia is inhumane. Children don‟t belong behind any barbwire fence," said Dale Stephenson, Senior Pastor of Crossway. "When the government was first elected in 2007 it promised a humane and even-handed approach to refugees. It promised community-led care of refugee children. We're calling on them to stick to those principles. The government's decision is morally wrong and they need to change their policy" said Mission Australia's Chief Executive, Mr Toby Hall. For the past three years Baptcare has provided supported community-based accommodation, social work and advocacy to male asylum seekers while they await the outcome of their visa application. The program provides a sustainable model of community-based accommodation for asylum seekers and a viable alternative to homelessness, detention centres or deportation. However, despite the model being internationally recognised and informing the US's detention and housing program for asylum seekers, the Australian Government has declined to consider it as an option. Baptcare's case workers also have extensive experience in the specialist field of supporting asylum seekers during extended periods of uncertainty while maintaining their mental health and dignity. "Many asylum seekers have experienced trauma and torture, experiences that most of us could never contemplate or understand. The asylum seekers we support have been forced to flee their homelands under threat of persecution because of their race, religion, political beliefs or ethnicity," said Mr Davey. "We believe that everyone has the right to a fair go, particularly the most vulnerable members of our community, and the government should be working to achieve that. "One of Baptcare's core values is justice, and we believe this is an issue of justice for all people regardless of their circumstances. These people have come to Australia seeking protection, and our government is letting them down," Mr Davey said. Media contacts:
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