tamworth opens its heart... finally

So, Minister Vanstone is happy that Tamworth have opened their heart to a handful of Sudanese refugees. Woop-de-doo! She must be pissed off that it took such an effort;

Tamworth City Council voted this week to spurn an offer by the Department of Immigration to resettle the families for fear it could lead to a "Cronulla riots- type situation", Mayor James Treloar said.

Cr Treloar said that "of the 12 Sudanese people who live in Tamworth, eight have been before the courts for everything from dangerous driving to rape. These people don't respect authority … They come from countries where there are outbreaks of TB (tuberculosis) and polio. How can we trust the department to screen those things?"

The part I fail to understand is exactly what council had to agree to anyway. As far as I'm aware they have no part in housing funding, visa applications or migration issues generally. While councils can be helpful in terms of leadership in community acceptance, I wouldn't have thought any decision they made would be binding in this regard.