The plight of a Filipino family in the country Queensland town of Bell, raises the question of how sincere the Federal government is in its campaign to attract new migrants to regional areas and to help rural communities get much-needed skilled workers and develop small businesses.
Local Bell resident David Burns recalls the surprise visit of former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2017 together with local Federal member David Littleproud. During the visit, the Prime Minister admired the ‘very strong and productive electorate.’
A rural town of 500 people, Bell is part of Mr Littleproud’s large electorate of Maranoa. Such towns are the economic backbone of the southern outback seat that covers 42% of Queensland, ‘an area more than three times the size of the entire state of Victoria.’
Mr Burns’ eldest son was chosen to welcome the Prime Minister for the visit - a particularly proud moment for the father whose son was earlier diagnosed with ADHD. He credits the community support and the expertise of Bell’s local state school in helping his son develop into a well-adjusted student who eventually became school captain.
For five years, Bell has also been home to Filipino migrants Geofrey and Geraldine Custodio and their four sons. The family left the Philippines in 2014 to settle in the small rural town after Mr Custodio got work there that utilised his veterinary training.
However, in December 2018, the Department of Home Affairs denied the family’s permanent residency application. They now face the Department’s ‘One Out, All Out’ policy because the couple’s 11-year old son, Gain, who has autism, “does not satisfy the health requirements” of the federal government’s immigration policy.
Veterinarian Geofrey Custodio gives a talk about the piggery breeding program that he works on. Source: Geraldine Custodio
To Mr Burns and other families in Bell, the case of the Custodio family is personal.
“I have had firsthand experience with my eldest boy who had special needs at school. The school helped him. I believe that the school will help Gain with his needs. And we want them to stay and be part of this community.”
Bell caravan park owners Craig Winter and Tracy Renton say that more new migrants should be welcomed in regional areas, particularly since ‘a lot of Australians do not want to move out to the country.’
Mr Winter and Ms Renton’s business has become quite known within the camping community with the help of the Custodio family’s Filipino café which operates within the caravan park. They say they wouldn’t have had the capacity to provide a food catering service to their clients on their own.
Objective assessment
“Sometimes, people would call me after hours for food orders, " Geraldine says. Source: Supplied by C Macintosh
In a written response to SBS Filipino on the Custodio case, a spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs says that ‘the health requirement is not condition-specific, and the assessment is undertaken individually for each applicant based on their condition and level of severity.’
“It is an objective assessment to determine whether the care of the individual during their stay in Australia would likely result in significant costs to the Australian community or prejudice the access of Australian citizens and permanent residents to services in short supply,” its spokesperson says.
The Department guarantees that the current policy ‘does not discriminate against applicants who have a disability or illness, or a combination of both’ and that all applicants are treated equally and in a fair manner.
“If an applicant has a specific medical condition, this condition in itself does not result in a failure to meet the health requirement. If a significant medical condition is identified, a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth must provide an opinion as to whether the applicant meets the health requirement,” its representative says.
Gain, who has autism, “does not satisfy the health requirements” of the Federal Government’s immigration policy. Source: Geraldine Custodio
In a recent interview, mother Geraldine Custodio said, “the costing provided [by the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth] was quite big.” It was estimated that the Australian government would spend roughly five million dollars on her son’s treatment. This, according to Mrs Custodio, is the reason why their residency application got denied. The Department representative told SBS Filipino that the threshold at which costs are ‘currently considered to be significant is AUD$40,000’.
Committing to serving rural communities
The Custodio family says it is overwhelmed with the support from Bell residents and the Filipino community. “We feel encouraged knowing that people want us here. It means so much.”
Mr Custodio, a Philippine-registered veterinarian works in the breeding program of a local piggery, while Ms Custodio manages and operates the family’s café at the local caravan park. Aside from this and looking after her four children, she also works as a teaching aide at the Bell State School.
Many of Ms Custodio’s Filipino friends have asked her why they chose to put up a food business in Bell instead of the nearby town of Dalby which has a bigger population. “If someone does not want to invest in a small town, who else will? I thought if I’m able to bring more people into the town, it might be a good way to give to the town that accepted us,” she says.
“Sometimes, people would call me after hours for food orders. You know they came from the farm and you know that they’re tired. Or some truckers call saying they’ll be coming late. I keep my café open. I’m in a food business, I feed people.”
Geraldine keeps her cafe open for the local residents. Source: Supplied by C Macintosh
Bell residents David and Amanda Burns say they couldn’t imagine not having the Custodio family around. Their family and the Custodio’s have become great friends over the years. Local teacher Joanne Rodney, as well as Sarah and Luke Heathwood and other members of the Bell community, have been fighting for the Custodio family’s right to stay permanently in Australia through an online petition.
The rural Queensland town is part of the large Maranoa electorate held by the Federal Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud who has repeatedly highlighted “the massive skill shortage, particularly in rural and regional areas.”
Bell residents say they couldn’t imagine not having the Custodio family around. Source: Supplied by C Macintosh
In September, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, David Coleman told SBS Filipino that the “Government was committed to improving the migration system in order to support the skill needs of regional Australia.”
Both Mr Littleproud and Shadow Agriculture Minister Joel Fitzgibbon have declined to comment about each Party’s plans to reconcile its immigration and agricultural agenda to effectively convince migrant families to move to regional areas. SBS Filipino was unable to reach Mr Coleman for a response.
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