MP ‘confident’ on delivery of refugee funding

Federal Member for Groom Garth Hamilton said he is prioritising securing long-term funding for Toowoomba refugees.

Federal Member for Groom Garth Hamilton said he spoke about the benefits of Toowoomba being a refugee welcome zone during his maiden speech in federal parliament.

THE Federal Government has responded to the request of additional funding to support refugees who are now calling the Toowoomba region home.

Catholic Care Social Services executive director Kate Venables delivered a presentation at the Toowoomba Regional Council meeting on Tuesday outlining the critical need for more funding.

Federal Member for Groom Garth Hamilton said the initial funding secured by former MP John McVeigh was always going to require renegotiating.

“The funding mechanism that was put in place was only ever a temporary measure – it hasn’t got a means of upscaling or mechanism to be adjusted,” Mr Hamilton said.

“Obviously with Covid-19 hitting, that’s thrown everything into disarray.

“The biggest challenge for us is what has been the complete shift in the nation’s mindset on immigrant and refugee funding – we’re just not having the people coming in and there’s different challenges that we’re having to face now.”

The local MP said during the first six months of his role he had prioritised the issue and plans to continue serving as a voice for refugees in the Toowoomba region.

“I spoke intensively in my maiden speech on the benefits of Toowoomba being a refugee welcome zone and the whole of our community supports these new arrivals,” Mr Hamilton said.

“We’re seen as a positive case of how to do regional immigration very well – I’m proud of that and I think the whole of city of Toowoomba is proud of that.

“I work directly on a number of issues with many of our local refugee and migrant groups and I’m very well aware of the issues they face … my role is to be a strong voice within the Morrison Government making sure that those issues are raised upwards.”

The MP said he was confident more long-term, scalable funding would be delivered.

A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said the Toowoomba Refugee and Migrant Support (TRAMS) program will receive SETS funding of $0.930 million across the current grant period of January 2019 to June 2022.

The spokesperson said the Settlement Engagement and Transition Support (SETS) funding allocation for the current grant period is fully exhausted and no future funding is available under the Mutual Understanding, Support, Tolerance, Engagement and Respect (MUSTER) program.

“The TRAMS program and Multicultural Australia recently met with the Department of Home Affairs to discuss the settlement challenges identified in the Toowoomba region,” the spokesperson said.

“As a result of the 2018 funding round for the SETS program, funding in Toowoomba is shared across three service providers – TRAMS, Multicultural Australia and the Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma Association (QPASTT).

The spokesperson said the Federal Government also provides settlement support to humanitarian and other vulnerable migrants to meet their unique needs and to invest in their future participation in Australian society.

“The Government is continuing to invest in the sector … as part of the Government’s broader package of measures to support women’s safety, $26.1 million is available for SETS program providers over the next three years to keep refugee and migrant women safe and provide them with greater access to opportunities in their community and the Australian workforce.”