Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

In terms of what arrangements the former Howard government made when commissioning the building as to whether it met appropriate standards, I will have to take that on notice. I will go back in the files and examine what arrangements were made by the Howard government when they authorised the construction.

My understanding is that the detention centre in question currently has 80 or 90 detainees and has capacity for about 600, so it is not overcrowded and there is remaining capacity. But we have encouraged the Indonesians to provide accommodation for families outside the detention centre. Their usual practice is to do so, and we have encouraged them to provide alternative accommodation for families seeking asylum. We do note that, despite not being signatories to the convention, Indonesia’s record on nonrefoulement is excellent. (Time expired)