Linda Kirk (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Vanstone, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. I refer the minister to reports about the case of an Iranian woman and her daughter who were at Curtin detention centre in 2002. Is it the case that the woman and her daughter were the only female detainees in Charlie compound, where they were housed with more than 40 men? Is it also true that the women were kept in the compound for nearly three months after complaining of violence and attempted rape? Can the minister confirm that the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has now found that the immigration department failed to provide a safe place of detention for the women and that $15,000 in compensation should be paid? Can the minister now indicate whether her department will pay compensation to the women concerned and if so, when?