October 4, 2007, Sydney Morning Herald
"I have received advice from my department and community organisations across Australia," he said.
"It has been conveyed to me that recent refugee and humanitarian arrivals from the region of Africa are continuing to experience difficulty in successfully settling in Australia and the result is high levels of community concern."Mr Andrews today released a summary of allegations about African migrants, which he attributed to "feedback from various ethnic organisations" about events in their local community.
"Concerns about the establishment of race-based gangs, reports of altercations between African groups in nightclubs and at community functions, disagreements among prominent African community organisations over accusations that some are receiving favoured treatment in accessing community services," he said, listing the points in his dossier.
"Tensions have arisen between some African families involving conflict and assault, concern among some community leaders as to the increase in crime among some African youths, and reports of a developing trend of young African males congregating in parks at night, often to consume alcohol."
Immigration Minister 'racist': Bligh, Brisbane Times
Premier Anna Bligh has launched a scathing attack on Federal Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews, describing his comments about the Sudanese community as "racist" and as coming from the "deep south of America in the 1950s".
"I think frankly Australians will see Kevin Andrews' comments for what they are," Ms Bligh told a media conference in Brisbane this morning.
"It has been a long time since I have heard such a pure form of racism out of the mouth of any Australian politician. For it to come to come from the Immigration Minister is particularly disturbing.
"I think we are in for a desperate and ugly federal election campaign and I would suggest that people like Kevin Andrews need to think long and hard about the long-term traumatic effects he will have on the lives of refugee children and their families before he opens his mouth again."
Deport Sudanese troublemakers, businessman says, ABC News
A prominent Brisbane businessman has backed the Federal Immigration Minister's claims that some Sudanese refugees struggle to assimilate in Australia ...
The president of the Caxton Street Association Sarosh Mehta says young Sudanese men cause problems in the precinct every weekend and it is a serious problem.
He says the answer is simple - deport the troublemakers.
"I would like to publicly call on Kevin Andrews the Minister for Immigration to simply send them back to where they came from," he said.
"And I assure you the minute we start doing that the message will get through to the rest of these guys real fast."
