Two Coalition MPs join Tim Watts in call for more private sponsorship of refugees

Two government MPs have supported a motion from Victorian Labor MP Tim Watts arguing for increased private sponsorship of refugees to increase Australia’s resettlement intake.

In a week when the immigration minister, Peter Dutton, branded some asylum seekers “fake” refugees and warned the so-called “legacy caseload” of about 7,500 people to formally apply for protection by 1 October or face deportation, the two MPs took the opportunity of a parliamentary debate to send a much more welcoming message.

Watts has brought forward a motion which calls on Australian governments, businesses and community organisations to explore ways to use private sponsorship to expand the resettlement of refugees through formal channels.

Victorian National party MP Andrew Broad seconded the Watts motion, telling parliament lived experience in his electorate of Mallee suggested sponsored refugees not only boosted economic activity but were also good for the soul of communities.

“I really think this needs a push along,” Broad said.

He said he had recently read a book about the origins of the Holocaust and the history had brought home to him the requirement for political leaders to deal properly with refugees and “take their population on the journey”.

Broad said in the community of Nhill, in western Victoria, a sponsored refugee program had “not only brought a labour force into the town, it’s changed the culture of the town, it’s opened the hearts of the people in the town”.

“It has actually worked,” Broad told parliament.

“And so what I say to people when they are a little bit apprehensive about Australia taking more refugees, it’s really about what are the services we are going to provide, what communities are we going to put in and how are we going to integrate people into our community.

“These are beautiful people.

“I am so proud of humble country folk who are being part of the solution. We can do this, we can replicate this in many towns across Australia and it will bring so much good.”

In a subsequent radio interview, Broad said an additional 10,000 people could be brought in through sponsorship, up from the current figure of 1,000.

The MP said the boost “would have to be integrated with businesses that could demonstrate job security and integration support”.

“And it can’t just be the workers,” he told the ABC. “It must be the families too.”

Another government MP, the Victorian Liberal Russell Broadbent, also spoke in support of the motion.

He said pilot programs supporting refugees moving to particular communities were fine but they lacked scale. Broadbent said more people went through the pie stand at the MCG in 20 minutes than participated in pilot programs.

Broadbent, a prominent party moderate who has argued for humane asylum policies, said fairness was in the DNA of Australians “but we don’t carry it through internationally in the way I believe we should”.

“And I can’t stand here and say ‘I can’t say this because my party will be upset with me’, because this is about relationships.”

Broadbent told parliament Australia was not in a position to take the multitudes of people wanting to come as refugees, but where a community wanted to sponsor families or individuals “we can make it easier for them to do that”.

“What [Tim Watts] has put out is a clarion call for compassion, conscience and common sense.”

Watts, a Victorian Labor MP, told parliament the current refugee crisis was the defining humanitarian issue of our time “and a challenge Australia has all too often failed to rise to”.

He said while Australia’s refugee debate was toxic, there were points of potential consensus between political parties. “I believe we can build out from these areas of consensus to increase the positive impact Australia can have on the international refugee crisis.”

Watts said community or private sponsorship allowed the costs of resettlement to be borne by communities, rather than the commonwealth.

He said Canada’s private program had settled more than 200,000 refugees since 1978 beyond the formal government humanitarian program.

“Perhaps the Australian community can do a better job at this task than those of us in the parliament,” Watts said.

Professor Jane McAdam, director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW, said the proposal was welcomed in principle, “because it will enable more refugees to find protection in Australia, simultaneously stimulating the economy, schools and resources in rural areas”.

“Experiences here and overseas show what a positive impact refugees can make to all aspects of life, and that they tend to be some of our most hardworking and committed residents.”

However, McAdam said, any sponsored places should be in addition to government-sponsored places.

“The current scheme proposed by the government comes out of the existing refugee quota – in other words, the more sponsored refugees there are, the fewer government places are available. This in fact reduces the government’s commitment to refugee protection at a time when we are seeing the largest number of refugees in the world since WWII.

“Any private sponsorship scheme should be additional to the government’s quota – as is the case in Canada – and should ensure that all refugees have access to the same level of support.”

In a submission to the immigration department, Save the Children recommended Australia increase the number of sponsored humanitarian places to 5,000 for 2017-18.

“Australia’s community sponsorship scheme should be reformed and expanded. In particular, Australia’s community sponsorship opportunities should be taken out of the humanitarian intake so that they genuinely supplement, rather than subsidise, the Australian government’s commitments and do not result in the creation of a ‘fast lane’ for those with financial resources and connections, at the expense of those without,” the submission said.

Save the Children argued the up-front costs of sponsorship – between $30,000 and $40,000 plus additional costs for further family members – should be significantly reduced, in favour of an “assurance of support” model, where a sponsoring person or organisation guarantees support for a humanitarian migrant.