Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio will call on the Commonwealth Government to increase funding for relevant Toowoomba refugee and migrant service providers.
Mayor Antonio this week (June 27 Ordinary Meeting of Council) gained the support of his Council colleagues to send an email to Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Minister Andrew Giles requesting more funding for providers to appropriately service the Region's growing refugee and migrant population.
Councillors also endorsed inviting Minister Giles to visit the Region to meet the community support agencies and their clients.
"Council is pleased to lend its voice to the growing chorus calling for an increase in funding to allow community service providers to continue their vital work supporting refugees and migrants who are adjusting to new lives in a foreign land," Mayor Antonio said.
"Council has previously advocated for an increase in funding, which ultimately was successful in the short term, with the assistance of the then Federal Member for Groom John McVeigh. Apart from sending this latest correspondence, it might be necessary to visit Canberra to impress on the government how vital this financial support is for the Region's service providers.
"We have heard CatholicCare's recent plea for an extension of funding to allow its Toowoomba Refugee and Migrant Service (TRAMS) to continue its resettlement work.
"There are many other service providers that are facing extra demands driven by the increase in the refugee and migrant population.
