Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, I present the committee’s report, incorporating dissenting reports and a minority report, entitled Immigration detention in Australia: facilities, services and transparency, together with the minutes of proceedings and evidence received by the committee.

Ordered that the report be made a parliamentary paper.

It gives me great pleasure to present this report to the parliament.

The committee’s third report addresses the remaining terms of reference, which consider service provision, the infrastructure required to support the immigration detention framework for the future, and options to expand the transparency of services and infrastructure in Australia’s immigration detention facilities.

The committee acknowledges that the Australian government has made positive steps to introduce more appropriate and humane accommodation and facilities through immigration residential housing and immigration transit accommodation.

However, the committee observed that the standard of accommodation and facilities provided at immigration detention facilities was of serious concern, particularly at stage 1 at Villawood and the Perth immigration detention centre. Many detention facilities—in particular, the North West Point immigration detention centre on Christmas Island—have in place antiquated security measures such as razor wire.

The committee has therefore recommended:

• the reconstruction of stage 1 at Villawood;
• an upgrade of the Perth immigration detention centre;
• the removal of all caged walkways and electrified fencing from the North West Point immigration detention centre; and
• the removal of all razor wire from other immigration detention facilities.

This report also recommends that detention in immigration residential housing should be used in lieu of detention in immigration detention centres, provided that it is feasible.

In addition, the committee received evidence from a number of organisations that highlighted some serious issues relating to the provision of immigration detention services across all immigration detention facilities.

The committee and many other organisations continue to have some reservations about the capacity of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to shift to a risk-averse framework where the onus is on establishing the need to detain. In view of the report, the primary concern of immigration detention authorities should be the wellbeing of the detainees.

The committee has made the following four key recommendations which are intended to ensure that people in immigration detention, both onshore and offshore, are provided the same level of appropriate service:

• that the Australian National Audit Office undertake a full review of the current immigration detention service providers and immigration detention facilities within the next three years;
• that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship introduce a mandatory ongoing training program for all staff of the immigration detention service provider;
• that the department publish the detention service standards, or the current equivalent, on its website; and
• that the Australian government maintain appropriate physical and mental health facilities on Christmas Island.

Lastly, the committee has also recommended that there should be improved transparency of services and infrastructure in Australia’s immigration detention facilities by:

• providing the media greater access to all immigration detention facilities, whilst maintaining the privacy of people in immigration detention;
• publishing regularly updated information on all immigration detention facilities; and
• developing a set of public media protocols that apply consistently across all immigration detention facilities.

I would like to thank all who have participated in this inquiry, particularly those who have made written submissions or given evidence at public hearings.

The secretariat and the members of the committee have laboured very hard. We have now produced three very comprehensive reports on immigration detention, which in my view is a great corpus of knowledge for this parliament and for this country. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation of members of the committee, including the deputy chair, who is on the other side of the House, who have participated during the course of this inquiry and who are committed to ensuring that our immigration system treats all people, regardless of their status, in a humane and compassionate manner while protecting Australia’s borders in a robust and fair immigration system. I think the corpus of our three reports shows that both of those ideals can be achieved at the same time, in contrast to some events of the past.

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