Petition to Reinstate Basic Support for People Seeking Asylum
The Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum is asking people to sign a petition to reinstate basic support for people seeking asylum.
The Australian Government is currently removing basic support payments (the Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) payments, which are 89% of Centrelink’s Newstart allowance) for a significant number of people seeking asylum. This will have a devastating effect on many vulnerable people in our community.
The Jesuit Refugee Service has noted that “The sudden removal of support payments will not assist people in finding work or becoming self-sufficient, but will instead push already vulnerable people into situations of great risk and significant stress and trauma. Charity services…will not be able to assist the additional hundreds to thousands more people in need of support.”
Our Catholic community is called to welcome Christ, hidden in the disguise of the ‘strangers’ before us (Mathew 25:35). As such, we are challenged to speak up for all those affected by these changes and make our contribution to shaping a more compassionate welcome from our nation.
