An Italian town has proposed giving jobless immigrants a one-off €2,000 euro payment as long as they agree to live elsewhere.

The town council is controlled by the Northern League, which has previously called on the Italian navy to sink boats trying to smuggle in illegal immigrants from North Africa.

“We’re ready to give 2,000 Euros to each family as long they go and live elsewhere,” said Manola Spolverato, 39, a councillor in the town of Spresiano, north of Venice in the north-east Veneto region.

“It would cost less than supporting families who are in difficulty. It’s not right that the council should be compelled to support, at its own expense, immigrants who have lost their jobs.”

The Northern League’s leaders have welcomed the idea and have suggested extending it to other towns.

The party — La Lega Nord in Italian — wants greater autonomy for the wealthy regions of Italy’s north, including the Veneto.

It attracted eight percent of the national vote at April’s general election, doubling its support base, and was made a key part of prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative coalition.

One of its campaign posters featured a picture of a Native American with the slogan: “They were subjected to immigration and now they live on reserves!”