Asylum Seeker Policy: Letter to the Leader of the Federal Oppoisition from DCI-Australia President
6 February 2002
The Honourable Simon Crean MP
Member for Hotham
Leader of The Opposition
By e-mail:
Dear Mr Crean
On behalf of the Australian Section of Defence for Children International (DCI-A), I would like to urge you to continue and indeed go further in developing a more compassionate policy
response to refugees seeking asylum in Australia.
DCI-A is the local section of a global network of expert children's rights agencies. We are independent of government and use the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as
the touchstone for all of our policy positions. We strongly support your statement that "it is just plain wrong to hold innocent children behind razor wire.... Children should be out
in the community where they can live more normal lives, get an education, and be protected from some of the horrors many have them have witnessed."
Not only is such treatment inhumane and in breach of our obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is also counterproductive in terms of the harsh adverse effects it
has on young people who in many cases will be future citizens of this country and in any case are be citizens of the world. More importantly they are people now who deserve and need to be
treated with compassion and humanity.
While the indication of more compassionate stance is welcome and provides at last a positive alternative to the callous government position, we would urge you to go further and advocate the
release of families under the supervision of non-government agencies willing to provide support. Separating women and children from other family members is not a constructive solution for
already traumatised families. As a matter of principle it puts asylum seeker families in the invidious position of electing for separation from their men folk or "choosing" to
stay in detention. As a matter of practice, offering such a "choice" to detainees in Woomera has not met with success precisely for this reason. Also, it must be recalled that
some asylum-seeker children only have male family members and thus would be required to separate completely from their kin.
Other countries with bigger problems than Australia's have found better models. So must we!
We would also urge you to challenge and not to use derogatory terms such as "illegal immigrants" and "queue jumpers" language which serves only to encourage racist
sentiment and to label people seeking help as 'other'. This is not part of the 'fair go' which Australians are supposedly so keen to pride themselves on.
Finally, and by way of a constructive approach to the current Inquiry into Children in Detention that is being conducted by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, we would
suggest that the Labor Party seek to introduce an amendment to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act 1986 to provide the Human Rights Commissioner with the same powers as a Royal
Commissioner for the purposes of this Inquiry. The current lack of power to protect witnesses and their identities, to compel evidence, and to override confidentiality agreements is a major
concern among community advocates who have been calling for a Royal Commission. Your party's support for such an amendment would reflect a genuine desire to reveal the truth about
the state of immigration detention centres. It would be very telling if the Government were to oppose such an amendment.
Please take a lead, encourage a more humanitarian approach which Australia as a nation can be proud of, and give people a reason to support Labor again.
Yours faithfully
Dr Judy Cashmore
President
Defence for Children International - Australia
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