Australians ashamed of asylum seeker policy

Transcript

MARCELLE MOGG: We find that this is absolutely unacceptable and we certainly call on the Australian government to close its offshore detention facilities and to bring people to Australia. Many Australians have long opposed Australia's response to asylum seekers and refugees that has been prevalent in the last 15 years really, we are deeply ashamed of the way that successive Australian governments have responded to the global challenge of asylum seekers and refugees. We've long been a country that has welcomed refugees and asylum seekers and benefited significantly from the contribution that they have made to our communities.

BEN ROBINSON DRAWBRIDGE: What do you think the obligations of Australia should be in terms of refugees?

MM: Australia has long been a signatory to the United Nations conventions on the rights of refugees so we're very clear that our obligations are to receive people who approach our country seeking asylum, we certainly have an obligation and the right to examine the legitimacy of that claim but we do not have the right to cause further harm to those people and certainly not to enable conditions of abuse to occur.

BRD: I see that you're calling for independent oversight of children.

MM: That's correct, the minister for immigration in Australia is currently the legal guardian for unaccompanied children in immigration detention, and this same minister of course is the minister responsible for determining the future of those children with respect to their asylum seeking claims and their refugee status claims. We would contest that there is an inherent conflict in terms of the one ministerial appointee being responsible for both the welfare and well-being of children and also making that determination about their future well-being and their future status. We would say that an independent commissioner, a national children's commissioner, or a commissioner for children in detention be established and that that person have responsibility for making decisions about the current well-being of children, the protection of children, and have authority to place children in appropriate arrangements until such time as their claim for asylum is evaluated.

BRD: If the Australian government were to move the detainees back to Australia, the role of actually looking after them is something that you can provide isn't it?

MM: We currently provide extensive services to people both in immigration detention in Australia, be they in detention centres or in the community, we provide a range of supports from housing, job assistance, health care, English language classes, right through to that vital support of friendship and helping people to understand life in Australia and to adapt to life in Australia. There is no reason why we cannot provide that support to people and end mandatory detention both onshore and offshore, we certainly have the capacity and the experience and the desire to treat refugees and asylum seekers humanely while recognising that the government must establish the security and health considerations of people, these are not mutually exclusive considerations by any means.