Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to table a petition on behalf of the Bendigo chapter of the Grandmothers Against Detention of Refugee Children. It has been to the Petitions Committee and been ruled in order.

The petition read as follows—

To the Honourable The Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives

This petition of The Bendigo Chapter of the Grandmothers against Detention of Refugee Children

Draws to the attention of the House: The prolonged, cruel and inhumane detention of minors under eighteen in detention centres that causes them significant mental and physical illness and developmental delay and that is in breach of Australia's international obligations.

We therefore ask the House to: Immediately take action to free all minors into the Australian community.

from 385 citizens

Petition received.

I recently met with this chapter of the Grandmothers Against Detention of Refugee Children, and their stories and what they asked was quite simple. Firstly, at the meeting, they spoke about the shame that they have about this government's approach towards children in detention. They spoke about the heartbreak that they have every time the government tries to politicise this very important issue. They spoke about the disappointment that, in their lifetime, they believe, this country has gone backwards in this important area of public policy. These people—grandmothers, and a few grandfathers—said that they are embarrassed and ashamed that policy that this government had when they were younger is better than policy that we have today in this country. This group argued quite passionately that they believe that human beings and the lives of these children should be at the centre of any public policy—not the politics, not votes, but the lives of these individuals—and that they want this government to act decisively; they want this government to start putting children first when it comes to policy on this issue. I am proud to table the petition on behalf of this local group.