Not Nauru, release in Australia: Greens
Friday, June 17, 2011 by Admin
The Australian Greens say the Federal Opposition's claim a detention centre on Nauru will be cheaper than the Malaysian announcement misses the point that neither option is humane because both seek to export Australia's humanity toward asylum seekers.
"More than a dozen refugee and human rights groups last week backed the Greens' stance that neither Malaysia nor Nauru are acceptable locations to assess the claims of asylum seekers," Greens' immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young said.
"More than a dozen refugee and human rights groups last week backed the Greens' stance that neither Malaysia nor Nauru are acceptable locations to assess the claims of asylum seekers," Greens' immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young said.
"The upcoming parliamentary inquiry into mandatory detention, negotiated by the Greens, will seek to have on the public record the costs of maintaining the off-shore detention system compared to alternatives such as community release. Once the facts are on the table, Australians will be able to see the most cost-efficient use of their money.
"The UNHCR in Australia says there is no evidence mandatory detention deters people from seeking asylum.
"Fairfax papers have today exposed the plight of poor and uneducated Indonesian boys locked up in Australian prisons because they were duped by people smugglers. These reports are very concerning, but unfortunately not unique. The Australian Government has been making a habit of over-looking the special minors status of Indonesian boys and imprisoning them in adult facilities. It is a practice that must end, as it violates our obligations to children and minors.
"The Australian government needs to ensure that we act in accordance with our international obligations and treat all minors, regardless of where they come from, appropriately and with care within our criminal justice system.
"Both sides of politics should pull back in their race to the bottom on asylum seeker policy and instead work for alternatives that do not export Australia's international obligations under the treaties for refugees and torture."
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