Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Danna Vale (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak on the release of this report of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, Immigration detention in Australia: facilities, services and transparency. This is the third of three reports under the terms of reference of our inquiry into immigration detention in Australia. The first report addressed the criteria that should be applied in determining how long a person should be held in detention, the criteria that should be applied in determining when a person should be released from immigration detention following health and security checks, and review mechanisms for ongoing detention, removal practices and detention debts.

I would like to take this opportunity to say how pleased I was that the government moved so quickly to implement the committee’s recommendation regarding detention debts in the passing of the Migration Amendment (Abolishing Detention Debt) Bill 2009 during the last sitting period. In the 13½ years I have been here in the parliament and working as a standing committee member, this is one of the first occasions I can clearly recall when one of our committee’s recommendations has been taken and implemented by the government, and I was pleased to support the government on this humane measure. The second report, tabled earlier this year, addressed alternatives to detention. It also recommended that the government reform the bridging visa framework to ensure it supported those released into the community.

This final report looks at options to expand the transparency and visibility of immigration detention centres. It also looks at immigration infrastructure and detention services, including health services for contemporary immigration detention. Evidence was given to our committee by many notable organisations and individuals, including A Just Australia, Amnesty International Australia, Asylum Seekers Centre, Australian Red Cross, Balmain for Refugees, House of Welcome, Mercy Refugee Service, Brotherhood of St Laurence, Detention Health Advisory Group, Law Institute of Victoria, Liberty Victoria, Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, Commonwealth Ombudsman, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Centrecare, Uniting Church of Australia, ASIO, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, GetUp! and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

The evidence received by the committee was valuable and helpful in our deliberations as we came to our recommendations to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. Amongst other things, the committee recommends the reconstruction of stage 1 at Villawood in Sydney, the upgrade of the Perth Immigration Detention Centre, the maintenance of appropriate physical and mental health facilities on Christmas Island and the use of more appropriate security measures at all immigration detention centres.

The committee also recommends that detention in immigration residential housing should be used in lieu of detention in immigration detention centres, provided that it is feasible. It is noted, however, that secure detention will continue to play an important role in the immigration system. The committee recommends 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. The committee would then want this review fed into the contracts for either the next re-tender or a renewal process.

Finally, the committee makes recommendations with regard to increasing transparency in immigration detention. The committee recommends the Australian Human Rights Commission be granted a statutory right of access to all detention centres and people in detention. The committee also recommends that the media be granted greater access to detention facilities and that regular information on all immigration detention facilities and statistics on detainee population be published.

I believe that the recommendations to come from the three reports of this committee are a natural evolution of the actions of the previous coalition government. This started when the coalition moved to prevent children and families being held in detention centres and instead ensured that children and their families were appropriately housed in residential housing within the community. In this regard I acknowledge the contribution and hard work of the member for Pearce, the former member for Cook, Bruce Baird, and the member for Kooyong, who is also a member of this joint standing committee. Further, it should be noted that the previous coalition government moved to close down detention centres. Woomera was closed in 2003, Port Hedland was closed and Baxter was closed in August 2007.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for making statements on the report has expired. Does the member for Melbourne Ports wish to move a motion in connection with the report to enable it to be debated on a future occasion?

I move:

That the House take note of the report.

In accordance with standing order 39, the debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.