Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science, Technology and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, in writing, on 2 June 2011:

In respect of irregular maritime arrivals detained at RAAF Base Scherger, does Defence monitor the:

(a) phone calls that detainees make,

(b) websites that detainees visit, and

(c) emails that detainees send;

If so, does Defence keep a log of what is monitored;

If so, have detainees visited pornographic websites, and/or websites considered to be

violent in nature;

If so, can he provide a list of those websites that are considered to be violent in nature.

Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

In respect of irregular maritime arrivals detained at RAAF Base Scherger:

(a) Defence does not monitor phone calls that detainees make.

(b) Defence does not monitor websites that detainees visit. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has a service provider, SERCO AP which provides all internet services at the site.

(c) Defence does not monitor emails that detainees send. The DIAC service provider SERCO AP provides all email services at the site.

Defence does not monitor calls, websites or emails for detainees at RAAF Base Scherger. Defence provides 25 extensions from the Private Automatic Branch Exchange (PABX) at RAAF Base Scherger for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship's ( DIAC's) use. Defence logs call events for the purposes of cost recovery from DIAC as a tenant at RAAF Base Scherger.