Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

So the minister has said that the responsibility of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship ceases the minute the child leaves the country and is sent to an offshore detention centre. The whole reason for this is to remove the rights of the child in terms of what they would have had under the existing legislation. Is it the fact that the minister has to decide, as the guardian of the child, to sign off on removal of a child and to send that child offshore—which is appealable in the courts—which will mean that the minister will no longer be their guardian? For the 10 unaccompanied minors on Christmas Island, as of tonight we are getting rid of the guardianship responsibilities of the minister in relation to those 10 children.