AMNESTY International has condemned both sides of Australian politics for the ongoing detention of children in offshore immigration processing centres.
The federal Liberal and Labor parties blame each other for the situation (‘MPs trade blame over child detentions’, The News 18/2/15) but the human rights watch group is critical of each party.
Amnesty International peninsula branch spokesman Kevin Bain said Dunkley MP and Small Business Minister Bruce Billson’s attempt to discredit The Forgotten Children report by the Australian Human Rights Commission “is weak political gamesmanship”.
“The government sat on the report for three months, tabling it on the last possible day,” Mr Bain said.
“Eight former Australians of the Year, including experts in children and mental health such as Fiona Stanley and Patt McGorry, marked Australia Day this year by signing a plea for all children to be released.”
Mr Bain said in the UK, the responsible Minister cannot detain a child for longer than 7 days, yet the average period for children and adults in locked detention facilities in Australia is 426 days.
He said giving “discretionary power” to immigration ministers, no matter which political party is in power, reduced asylum seekers’ rights.
“Labor also has hardly showered itself with glory over its past policies and performance. Will Isaacs federal MP Mark Dreyfus grasp the nettle and support this proposal which puts the interests of children first?” Mr Bain asked.
According to the latest federal Coalition government figures, 135 children remain in detention on Nauru and a further 333 are being detained in immigration centres on the Australian mainland.
