Thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing war violence in their home country could be resettled in Victoria’s new Covid quarantine facility after Premier Daniel Andrews flagged the state would welcome those displaced.
Australia is prioritising visas for Ukrainians escaping the war, initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has scaled up his military assault on and surrounded the country’s largest cities.
With the UN Refugee Agency predicting around four million people could end up displaced, Mr Andrews on Wednesday said the state’s new facility at Mickleham could become a potential short-term home.
“That’s currently an option,” he told reporters.
“It would be useful and important in many different contexts, whether it’s natural disasters or sadly it might potentially be in use when it comes to a real humanitarian crisis.”
More than 500,000 Ukrainians have fled the country and 160,000 are on the move out.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison this week confirmed the government was quickly processing visas and receiving around 100 per day.
While some of the visas will be offered on short-term skills or education terms, Australia will also offer permanent humanitarian visas to some Ukrainians.
It’s unclear at this stage how many places will be available.
“We will do whatever we have to do, whatever we can to help support either temporarily or on a permanent basis anyone fleeing from Ukraine, Ukrainian, anybody displaced by this conflict,” Mr Andrews said.
“It’s probably a bit early for us to talk about what form that would take, but we stand ready to do it.”
The City of Melbourne has voted unanimously to suspend its sister-city relationship with Russian city St Petersburg, the home town of Mr Putin.
The council entered into a sister-city relationship with St Petersberg in 1989 when the city was known as Leningrad.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said the suspension meant all council support for activities between the cities would cease.
“We condemned the acts of violent aggressixjmtzywon by the Russian government and noted that we stand with the people of Ukraine, the people of St Petersburg, and victims of war everywhere,” she said.
Victoria’s Opposition Leader Matthew Guy on Wednesday said the council had not gone far enough and called for any sort of relationship to be scrapped entirely.
“Suspension is one thing but … that relationship should’ve been scrapped, the ambassador should’ve been put on a plane back to Moscow,” he said.
“That would send a very powerful symbol that Australia says we don’t support a dictatorship invading a democracy.”
