Political opportunism, says Foster

BRIGHTON Mayor Tony Foster said today [SAT 7th MAY] that the Pontville Detention Centre could become a model for the rest of Australia.

And he said people who had protested against it at a public meeting in Pontville two weeks ago, had done so for politically opportunistic reasons.

Speaking at a public meeting in Hobart for Tasmanian Asylum Seeker Support volunteers, Mr Foster said he had spoken to people throughout the municipality since the Pontville meeting, and found only community support.

“There are 19 houses in the old village of Pontville which are closest to the centre, including mine and where I have lived for 32 years, ” he said. “None of the residents are against the centre and they are all very supportive of the asylum seekers.”

Mr Foster was in Sri Lanka when the Pontville meeting was held and said he was shocked when he read online Mercury coverage of inflammatory, racist statements.

“I’ve been all over the municipality since I got back and not one negative comment has been made to me,” he said today [SAT 7th MAY].

“The Pontville meeting – intended by the Immigration Department as an information session – was politicised by people brought in from outside the area. In future, there will be small meetings only for people who live nearby.”

About 120 people of all ages packed All Saints Hall for the Hobart meeting, organised by TASS founder Emily Conlan. More than 200 people have signed on as TASS volunteers, among them people from Brighton, Bagdad and Pontville.

Ms Conlan said that the cost for one asylum seeker for one year in an offshore detention centre was $500,000.

“This would cover 40 asylum seekers living in community detention,” she said. Humanitarian reasons aside, the community detention alternative would be “cost effective.”

Migrant Resource Centre general manager Cedric Manen told the meeting that the 400 men who would be sent to Tasmania would be from Iraq, Iran, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Mr Manen said 50 people in family groups were already arriving.

Mr Manen commended TASS for its positive role “at a time when local media is reporting so many negative things.”