Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Evans. Given reports of overcrowding on Christmas Island, where more than 2,000 asylum seekers are currently detained, what is the current processing time for applicants? A number of asylum seekers, as we know, have been there for nine months or longer.

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

I thank the senator for her question and her ongoing interest in this issue. I will get the Senate the exact figure, but the last time I looked the average processing time was around 115 days. It has crept up a little bit in recent times but been fairly steady around that mark for a while. The Senate would be aware that the statutory requirement of 90 days is not applicable on Christmas Island, but we attempt to meet the same target, as we think that is a reasonable target. It is true, though, that the average has been impacted by the delay in being able to successfully process the claims of a cohort of persons who arrived early in the second half of last year.

The senator would be aware that most of those arrivals were Sri Lankans of Tamil origin. There has been a delay in processing their security clearances because of the situation and the concern about LTTE connections. The relevant agencies have found that the processing times for their security clearances have taken longer than average, and some of them are still outstanding despite those people having spent quite a lengthy period in detention. We do not want to hold people in detention for long periods, but it is equally true that we will not be making final decisions on people’s asylum claims until we have had those security issues dealt with by the relevant agencies and those persons cleared. So the average processing times are I think reasonable, but they are impacted by that cohort that has had security processing issues. (Time expired)

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for his detailed answer. If we could get the precise figures, that would be wonderful. I understand that, as you have mentioned here in the chamber, there are a number of people who have been on Christmas Island for several months. Nine months is the average time for the cohort that I believe you are referring to, which leads to the question of the state of their mental health. Has there been an increase in the number of mental health specialists on the island? (Time expired)

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

I thank the senator for the supplementary question. I share her concern about the impact of long-term detention on people’s mental health. We have recently done some work with relevant universities. I think it was the University of Newcastle that did some excellent work on the impact of long-term detention on the mental health of detainees. During the Howard era, we did see a huge impact on the mental health of detainees who were held for long periods in detention. The evidence suggests that the impact of indefinite detention has a much worse impact on people’s mental health than even, say, being in prison, because at least people in prison have a time frame for when they will be released, whereas those who are in indefinite detention have all the doubts and uncertainties about that. We have mental health experts on my ministerial advisory group, we are very much focused on the issue and we think we have enough resources to ensure that adequate care—(Time expired)

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I seek further clarification in relation to that question. Can the minister outline what the current waiting times are for referrals to mental health workers for detainees on the island including children?

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

I cannot answer the question in that level of detail, but I am happy to take that on notice for the senator. As I say, we do provide comprehensive health services for detainees. I remind the Senate that we do not hold children in the immigration detention centre but in what is known as the construction camp, that we prioritise children and their families for assessments in order to try to limit the amount of time that those children are held on the island and that they remain a priority.

I know that the detail of their access to mental health services, potential waiting times and resources applied has been an issue in the past, and we have sought to address it. As I say, we have a number of people with mental health expertise on my ministerial advisory group who take a keen interest in these issues, but I will get the specific detail that the senator requested and report back to the Senate.