This was the picture that came with the front page story in The Age today. Here is some of the text:

Mr Ali, a refugee, and his wife Filsan, are among at least 50 Somali families in West Heidelberg facing acute overcrowding. Community leaders say about half of the area’s Somali families are living in sub-standard conditions, as their culture, which prizes large families (the average is four or five children, but many have seven or eight), meets the limits of public housing stock.

A Human Services Department report into public housing in the West Heidelberg area, recently released under freedom of information, found an oversupply of two-bedroom houses, but the wait for a four-bedroom house was more than 15 years in 2009. West Heidelberg housing lawyers now advise clients the delay is at least 20 years. . . .

In West Heidelberg, where 70 per cent of dwellings are public housing, lawyer Megan King said she regularly saw families dealing with severe overcrowding. ‘These families are desperate for any help they can get to move to a larger property,’ said Ms King, a housing rights lawyer at the West Heidelberg Community Legal Service.

I wonder if this is related. From the US:

Fifty-seven percent of Mexican immigrants on welfare

Well, how heartless can these taxpayers be. Look what’s being considered and examined:

Overall, state and federal aid use by immigrant families is much higher than that used by families headed by citizens of the United States.

The large population of immigrants, both legal and illegal in Eastern Washington and even Spokane affects the states budget dramatically.

The approaching fiscal cliff is forcing congress and the current administration to contemplate cuts to services. Welfare use by immigrants, both illegally and legally within the United States, should be thoroughly examined and considered while making cuts.