Grave concerns over Christmas Island expansion
Amnesty International has grave concerns over any proposal to increase capacity on Christmas Island. Amnesty International’s Refugee coordinator Graham Thom says these resources should be used to find ways to close the centre and process asylum seekers on the mainland.
"Taking boat arrivals to Christmas Island is already in breach of Australia’s international obligations because it penalises a particular group which has consistently been found to be in genuine need of protection.
Amnesty has repeatedly raised doubts over the current logistical capacity to appropriately process people on the Island, particularly families with children and unaccompanied minors.
Concerns have already been raised over the centre’s capacity to provide essential torture-trauma counselling, legal assistance and interpreters. The high level of security in the current centre is inappropriate to detain vulnerable people.
Australia should be looking at ways to bring vulnerable people to the mainland as soon as possible and not looking at ways to expand the centre and increase the number of people being detained.
Australia really needs to question the time and cost being put in to set up a system which is not only unnecessary, but is in breach of international obligations and clearly inappropriate to process vulnerable people.
Australia should be using these resources to bring them to the mainland to be processed in the same manner as all other asylum seekers."
Comments
Andrew J S | Posted on 10 November 2009, 11:30AM | Report comment
Another point, most boat arrivals to Christmas Island seem to come via Indonesia. They are hardly fleeing for their lives from here, and therefore could do more to make identification of themselves easier. The deliberate obstruction to process by destroying documents and making processing claims as long as possible in an effort to force your way in does nobody any favours. Surely educating those seeking Asylum to keep as much identification as possible is a worthy thing to do.
Andrew J S | Posted on 10 November 2009, 11:21AM | Report comment
Christmas Island does have the resources needed, and if it doesn’t it is here that they are in demand. If this were purely a cost exercise, the cheapest option would be to fly Asylum Seekers home, this of course is not an appropriate response to someone seeking Asylum, but nor is it appropriate to allow them into the wider community without appropriate screening. Doing the right thing for everyone comes at a cost. A large amount of Asylum seekers deliberately dispose of identification documents to make the screening process more difficult - Note that there is a convicted Sri lankan criminal deported from Canada now wanting to claim Asylum in Australia. Imagine if someone like that just got lost within the wider Australian community?
rhiannon Hall | Posted on 10 November 2009, 10:58AM | Report comment
Are the resources that are needed available in christmas island? surely it would cost tax payers much less money to ‘process’ asylum seekers where resources are available, for “...essential torture-trauma counselling, legal assistance and interpreters”. Rather than establish all these resources in Christmas island. Of course asylum seekers will be properly processed “before letting them run free”. I don’t believe they can ever ‘run free’ as you say. there are few who are given permanent protection. It is naive to talk about simplifying the process if potential asylum seekers are educated to have the appropriate paper work. it would perhaps surprise you the amount of Australians that do not have a copy of their birth certificate. The definition of an asylum seeker is someone who is fleeing for their life… I do not believe that if I was fleeing for my life I would wait for a birth certificate to be sent out to me and apply for a passport… what do you think?
Nicola | Posted on 9 November 2009, 09:48PM | Report comment
How can you expand an Island?
Andrew J S | Posted on 3 November 2009, 08:58AM | Report comment
Christmas Island IS Australia, this is why so many risk their lives to reach it by boat, It is the closest part of Australia to where the boat asylum seekers originate from. It makes far more sense to transport those who have already had stressful journey as little distance as possible. Its ridiculous to expect the government to transport them all the way to Sydney/Melbourne etc. Surely its better to create resources closest to where their is a need - ie Christmas island?. I used to feel appalled by Australias treatment of Refugees, but feel the removal of Temporary visas etc. has made it a whole lot fairer. You need to at least screen people before letting them run free otherwise you endanger everyone - If papers were retained by the asylum seekers, the whole process would be a lot quicker - educating them on this should be a priority.
rhiannon | Posted on 3 November 2009, 07:56AM | Report comment
Australia is a very big country, I think that we can spare some room for asylum seekers who require processing. I think Australia prefers to keep asylum seekers on Christmas Island not because it is ‘safer’ for the Australian public but because it is easier to refuse them refugee status. I am continually appalled and ashamed of Australia’s treatment of refugees and of fear mongering in the media and by government figures.
Andrew J S | Posted on 2 November 2009, 05:58PM | Report comment
Expanding Christmas island will help increase the number of Asylum seekers that can be processed whilst improving the conditions for everyone on the island - why would AI be against that? It is far safer for the rest of the Australian community that they remain off the mainland until they are assessed as not being a threat. Plane arrivals have proven this and retain appropriate documentation whilst boat people do not - Why do so many pay thousands to travel by boat when it is cheaper to travel by air?