Senator Andrew Bartlett
Friday, June 17, 2005
 
Ministers chance to be humane but will she take it?
Based on what's been announced in the media I'm disappointed with the deal struck between the PM and his 'rebel' backbenchers.

I want to see the full details before commenting at length, but it seems to me that while what's been announced may help a few people, it won't solve the core problems at the heart of our migration laws and the administration of detention policy.

It appears that the Immigration Minister will be given a few more chances to be humane, but with no compulsion. There is still no guarantee that all children will be out of detention. There will be more reports on the condition of detainees and recommendations from the Ombudsman, but no requirement for the Minister to act on them. Setting time limits that cannot be enforced with no consequences if they are not met, is of little use.

The Government has a long history of ignoring reports by the Ombudsman and our Human Rights Commission in this area. Producing more reports for the Minister to ignore is just going to make an inefficient, exorbitantly expensive system even worse.

It seems that with the tide of public opinion turning and faced with a backbench revolt, the Prime Minister has just handed more powers to the Immigration Minister, with no legal oversight over how they are used. Given the failure of the Minister and her Department to competently and fairly use the powers they already have, giving them even more unfettered power is absurd.

I don't think this deal will satisfy anyone who has been working with and on behalf of asylum seekers. The simple fact is we need a total overhaul of the system not just tinkering at the edges.

The Democrats plan to move next week in the Senate to establish a comprehensive Senate Inquiry into the administration of the Migration Act by DIMIA, with particular focus on detention and deportation and we will continue to call for a Royal Commission.

Thousands of people around the country will be participating in community events this weekend in the lead up to World Refugee Day on Monday. If you're anywhere near Brisbane this weekend I'll be speaking at a public forum on Saturday about conditions on Nauru and on Sunday I'll be at the World Refugee Day rally in Brisbane.

posted by Andrew Bartlett @ Friday, June 17, 2005 Permalink
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