Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I ask leave for additional information as to a question asked yesterday by Senator Hanson-Young, in respect of people-smuggling charges and claims that the Indonesian consulate is currently investigating 40 of these cases, to be incorporated in the Hansard.

Leave granted.

The answer read as follows—

Questions regarding how many minors are being held in prison in relation to people smuggling charges and claims that the Indonesian Consulate is currently investigating 40 of these cases.

I am advised by the Minister for Home Affairs, based on information provided by the Attorney-General's Department, that Australia does not have any person, found to be a minor by a court, in State or Territory prisons.

I am further advised that no person found to be a minor by a court in Australia has been convicted of a people smuggling offence.

Where age is not able to be clearly established, the person being investigated or prosecuted will be given the benefit of the doubt and returned to their country of origin without charge.

Since September 2008, to date, 76 people have been returned to their country of origin without charges proceeding because they were either found by a court to be a minor; assessed to be a minor following an age determination process; or given the benefit of the doubt by law enforcement authorities and no exceptional circumstances existed to warrant their prosecution.

By way of further background, and although it does not directly relate to the Senator's question, the Attorney-General's Department also advises that as at 17 October, there were around 25 people in either immigration detention or remand facilities charged with people smuggling offences, who claimed (usually via a legal representative) to be minors. Consideration of those claims is at various stages.

This figure does not include seven people in immigration detention who claim to be a minor, but have not yet been charged, or people in the process of being returned without charge because they have been assessed to be minors.

A person who has been charged and claims to be a minor is able to apply to the Court to seek bail into immigration detention, rather than being held in a remand facility, pending determination by a Court. Where such applications have been made, the Court has been amenable to granting bail into immigration detention.

It would not be appropriate to comment on the work or priorities of Indonesian consular officials.

The Indonesian Embassy and Consulates-General work very closely with Commonwealth, State and Territory officials in carrying out their consular responsibilities.

This includes through regular meetings at the working level between relevant agencies in Canberra and recently through the first formal Consular Consultations at a senior officials level in Perth on 30 June and 1 July 2011.

Australian Federal Police and their Indonesian counterparts are currently engaged in active discussions regarding how to improve the way information is obtained to assist in establishing the age of people smuggling crew and organisers who claim to be minors.