Commission Website: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
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Submission to the National
Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention from
Jon Stanhope MLA, Chief Minister
ACT Legislative Assembly
Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM
Human Rights Commissioner
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
GPO BOX 5218
SYDNEY NSW 1042
Dear Dr Ozdowski
I refer to your letter
of 1 March 2002 addressed to the Chief Executive of the Chief Minister's
Department inviting input to the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration
Detention. I note that you also wrote to the ACT Departments of Education
and Community Services, Health and Community Care and Justice and Community
Safety.
This letter represents
a coordinated ACT Government response to the Inquiry.
There are no children
in immigration detention in the ACT, but the ACT Government has an interest
in this Inquiry by virtue of its concern about the welfare of children
who are subsequently released into the community.
The ACT Government
is committed to upholding the rights of children as set out in the United
Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly Article
3 which states that " the best interests of the child shall
be a primary consideration." All decisions affecting children must
be made on the basis that their welfare is paramount.
Holders of Temporary
Protection Visas (TPVs) who choose to settle in the ACT are eligible to
receive the following services from the ACT Government free of charge:
- public school
education, including access to the Introductory English Centres for
children who have difficulty communicating in English;
- medical treatment
at ACT public hospitals and medical facilities;
- concessions on
a range of ACT Government services including public transport, spectacles,
electricity, and dental care;
- ambulance treatment
and transport;
- access to the
Junior Secondary Bursary Scheme which provides financial support for
dependent children in the junior high school years;
- provision of
interpreting assistance as appropriate for those seeking access to ACT
Government programs and services; and
- coordination
of community and government settlement support activities.In addition
arrangements have now been made for adult TPV holders to access English
language classes at the Canberra Institute of Technology free of charge.
TPV holders are not
eligible for public housing. However a small number of TPV holders have
been provided with financial assistance towards bond and advance rental
payments for private rental accommodation.
The Commonwealth
Government's present policy of mandatory detention is detrimental to asylum
seekers and limits their capacity to settle successfully in the Australian
community in the event that they are granted protection visas. Companion
House, a torture and trauma counselling service in the ACT, cites concerns
for people released from detention centres such as mental health issues,
gaps in schooling, unsettled family life, high levels of anger, particularly
among adolescent males, and a lack of a sense of belonging to the community.
Alternative child-centred
approaches such as electronic detention, release into the custody of an
appropriate person and the Swedish model of using group homes must be
considered. The ACT Government believes it is essential for children's
security and emotional development that family groupings, including extended
families, be maintained as far as possible both during detention and upon
release into the community.
If children are to
be kept in detention centres then they should be detained in such a way
as to promote their health and well-being and care must be taken that
they are not subjected to further trauma through witnessing or becoming
involved in violent or other disturbing incidents.
Any unaccompanied
children must receive appropriate care and guardianship arrangements,
preferably from people of the same cultural background. In the event that
unaccompanied children are to be released into the community, the practice
needs to change so that adequate notice be given to the receiving jurisdiction
to enable culturally appropriate care and support arrangements to be put
in place before the child's arrival. Instances often occur where limited
time is available to make appropriate arrangements for TPV holders on
their release.
Multicultural communities
in the ACT complement the services provided by refugee support groups
by offering social support for TPV holders. This usually occurs for people
from like cultural backgrounds. The majority of TPV holders released to
Canberra are from Iraqi and Afghan backgrounds. There are very few families
in these communities available for support purposes and these families
would have limited capability to care for unaccompanied children.
The welfare of children
in the ACT (including those who are affected by immigration detention)
is also protected through legislation as indicated below:
- the principles
contained in the Children and Young People Act 1999 and the Immigration
(Guardianship of Children) Act 1946 underpin all Family Services work
with children and families in the ACT. All areas of family contact,
health, mental health, development, identity and culture and legal status
would be appraised and addressed to ensure the best possible outcome
for a child or young person;
- children can complain
of unlawful discrimination to the ACT Discrimination Commissioner under
the ACT Discrimination Act 1991 or to the Commonwealth Human Rights
Commissioner under the Commonwealth Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission Act 1986;
- the Crimes Act
1900 prohibits physical and mental abuse of children through physical
harm (Parts 2 and 4) and sexual harm (Parts 3 and 5) and the Protection
Orders Act 2001 provides for protection orders in the case of actual
or apprehended abuse; and
- The Community
Advocate has a role, under the provisions of the Community Advocates
Act 1991, to act as advocate for the rights of children, and to promote
their protection from abuse and exploitation.
Please contact Ms
Judith Therkelsen, Manager of the ACT Office of Multicultural Affairs,
on 02 6207 6014 if you require any further information or clarification.
Thank you again for
the opportunity to provide input to this Inquiry. I look forward to reading
your report in due course.
Yours sincerely
Jon Stanhope MLA
Chief Minister
Last
Updated 10 October 2002.