By XAVIER SMERDON
MORE immigrants have settled in Wyndham than anywhere else in the western suburbs over the last five years, according to the latest statistics.
Figures provided by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship show that from March 2008 to March this year, 17,341 immigrants moved to Wyndham.
Only Monash and Greater Dandenong had more migrant settlers in Victoria, with 19,562 and 19,684 respectively.
Of those people from overseas that settled in Wyndham the majority, 9969, were skilled migrants, while 5855 were granted family visas and 1517 were granted a visa on humanitarian grounds.
Brimbank had 14,901 migrants settle in the municipality while Maribyrnong had 7015, Hobsons Bay had 4738 and Melton had 3859.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the Federal Government needed to be careful with how much support it provided for asylum seekers.
“Support for people on bridging visas needs to be adequate but not generous – we don’t want the provision of support to be an incentive that encourages people to put their lives at risk,” Ms Gillard said.
“Families receive 89 per cent of the benefits that an equivalent family on Centrelink benefits would receive. If they are unable to find housing through family and friends, they have access to accommodation for 6 weeks while they find their feet.”
Walter Villagonalo moved to Australia from the Philippines 26 years ago and is now the President of the Migrant Hub in Werribee.
He said that unless immigrants were given enough opportunities to make the best life for themselves they would become isolated from the rest of the community.
“A lot of people are coming here as skilled migrants with high expectations and we find that if they don’t feel welcome or valued then they don’t want to participate in the community,” Mr Villagonzalo said.
“If they are not participating in the community then their children will often not contribute to the wider community, so we are creating a generation that is not interested in joining in.”
Mr Villagonzalo said Wyndham had proven to be an area that provides good opportunities for immigrants, but other members of the community still needed to help those from other countries settle in.
“There have been isolated incidents of racism towards immigrants but I think in general Wyndham is very welcoming,” he said.
“It’s something we cannot avoid. We cannot choose who moves here but we can choose how we react.”
