2018-11-06 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                    6 NOVEMBER 2018


4                        REFUGEE WELCOME ZONE
DOCUMENT INFORM AT ION




Author                             Community Development Manager, Alison Hamblin.
                                   Community Services Department

Index                              ECM/ Subject/ Noosa Social Strategy

Attachments                        1.   Refugee Welcome Zone Declaration Template



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Not applicable.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Community Development Manager to the Services &
Organisation Committee Meeting dated 6 November 2018 and declare Noosa Shire as a
Refugee Welcome Zone.


REPORT
The purpose of this report is for Council to consider Noosa Shire becoming a Refugee Welcome
Zone.

1.                       Background

A Refugee Welcome Zone is a Local Government Area which has made a commitment to
welcoming refugees into the community, upholding the human rights of refugees, demonstrating
compassion for refugees and enhancing cultural and religious diversity in the community.

This public commitment is also an acknowledgment of the many contributions refugees have
made to Australian society. The Refugee Welcome Zone initiative began in June 2002 as part of
Refugee Week celebrations. Today, more than 160 Local Government Areas have declared
themselves Refugee Welcome Zones, and the initiative has proven to be a great success in
connecting local governments with the issues facing refugees and asylum seekers.

Currently, there are eight councils in Queensland that are Refugee Welcome Zones (Brisbane,
Diamantina, Flinders, Ipswich, Logan, Mackay, Toowoomba and Townsville Councils) compared
to 62 councils in New South Wales and 53 in Victoria.

This commitment closely aligns with the ethos of Noosa Council and a number of key Council
documents including the recently adopted 2018 Noosa Council Social Justice Charter and the
2015 Noosa Social Strategy.

2.                       Purpose

The purpose of becoming a refugee welcome zone is to make a public declaration and
commitment to welcoming refugees into the community, upholding the human rights of refugees
and demonstrating that Noosa Shire is an inclusive and tolerant community.




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