Our ‘role to help Syrian refugees’

By PAUL MILLAR

Geelong has a role to play in welcoming refugees fleeing conflict in the Middle East, according to Corio MP Richard Marles.
The war in Syria was a tragedy on an extraordinary scale, said federal Labor’s immigration and border protection spokesperson.
“Over the last few days we’ve seen an outpouring of sentiment and offers of assistance from the community on a grand scale,” Mr Marles said.
“We need to act and Geelong absolutely has a role to play. Here in Geelong we have a proud history of embracing multi-culturalism, ethnic groups from across the globe make up our city and we are a welcoming community.”
“I’ll be working with state representatives and community leaders to harness the goodwill to take action to help the people affected by the Syrian crisis.”
Surf Coast Shire could also accommodate Syrian refugees as a self-declared ‘Refugee Welcome Zone’.