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The Sydney Morning Herald- July 20, 2010
The federal government is getting ''squeezed both ways'' by the asylum seekers issue, says western Sydney Labor MP Laurie Ferguson.
Mr Ferguson, the Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, said older Australians in particular are worried that refugees will affect their lifestyle.
''Of course it's an issue (especially) in parts of western Sydney where you have issues ... of job availability,'' Mr Ferguson, whose seat is in one of Sydney's most ethnically diverse electorates, said.
''Older Australians, they have a certain lifestyle that existed for decades. When they see that changing later in life this does cause some uncertainty.
''People have difficulties with change, with what is different.''
Mr Ferguson's old seat of Reid takes in the suburbs of Auburn, Granville and Lidcombe - traditionally home to a large population of new migrants and refugees. He will contest the election as the candidate for the nearby seat of Fowler.
''We're getting squeezed both ways - we're apparently mimicking the opposition but we're too soft,'' he said.
But Mr Ferguson denied the federal government's proposal for an offshore processing centre in East Timor was in response to racial fears.
And he played down East Timor's rejection of the idea, saying it was simply a result of the ''internal dynamics of the East Timorese government''.
''I don't think we should be too certain over what is going to happen in East Timor,'' he said.
''There is a situation between (Prime Minister Xanana) Gusmao and (President Jose Ramos) Horta and who has balance of power there.''
- AAP
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The Sydney Morning Herald- July 20, 2010
The federal government is getting ''squeezed both ways'' by the asylum seekers issue, says western Sydney Labor MP Laurie Ferguson.
Mr Ferguson, the Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, said older Australians in particular are worried that refugees will affect their lifestyle.
''Of course it's an issue (especially) in parts of western Sydney where you have issues ... of job availability,'' Mr Ferguson, whose seat is in one of Sydney's most ethnically diverse electorates, said.
''Older Australians, they have a certain lifestyle that existed for decades. When they see that changing later in life this does cause some uncertainty.
''People have difficulties with change, with what is different.''
Mr Ferguson's old seat of Reid takes in the suburbs of Auburn, Granville and Lidcombe - traditionally home to a large population of new migrants and refugees. He will contest the election as the candidate for the nearby seat of Fowler.
''We're getting squeezed both ways - we're apparently mimicking the opposition but we're too soft,'' he said.
But Mr Ferguson denied the federal government's proposal for an offshore processing centre in East Timor was in response to racial fears.
And he played down East Timor's rejection of the idea, saying it was simply a result of the ''internal dynamics of the East Timorese government''.
''I don't think we should be too certain over what is going to happen in East Timor,'' he said.
''There is a situation between (Prime Minister Xanana) Gusmao and (President Jose Ramos) Horta and who has balance of power there.''
- AAP
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