Amnesty International is today urging the Government to steer clear of quick-fix solutions in its review of long-term detainees, calling instead for a complete overhaul of Australia's fatally flawed immigration detention system.

The worst-case scenario, where detainees can remain incarcerated until the day they die, has been shown as a real possibility under the current mandatory detention regime.

This state of affairs is a flagrant breach of human rights and Australia's international obligations. As such, it should not be tolerated by the Australian people.

The Government's recognition that its immigration detention policy is fundamentally flawed is woefully overdue. Now, as Cabinet meets to discuss the issue of indefinite detention, a real opportunity has arisen to bring this state of affairs to an end.

"This opportunity must not be wasted with short-term solutions that fail to address the crux of the problem," said Graham Thom, Refugee Coordinator for Amnesty International Australia.

"Piece-meal releases from detention or temporary visa arrangements are not good enough. What is needed is comprehensive and lasting change so that cases such as that of Peter Qasim - who has been incarcerated for more than six years - can never happen again."

Dr Thom added: "If the Government is serious about change, it must amend the mandatory provisions of the Migration Act, which make indefinite detention both a possibility and, as the Government itself has now recognised, an appalling reality."

Such changes are vital in ensuring that cases such as that of Mr Qasim and Cornelia Rau, mistakenly detained as an illegal immigrant for 10 months, are not repeated.

Amnesty International Australia has been calling for an end to mandatory detention since the policy's inception in 1992. It is urging the Government to comprehensively repeal the policy of mandatory detention, and is calling for the release of all immigration detainees unless there are compelling reasons why they should be detained, such as security risks. As at January 2005, there were 545 asylum seekers in detention centres across Australia.

The Government must bring the Migration Act into line with Australia's international human rights obligations. This requires a presumption against detention for any asylum seekers that arrive in future.

For further information, or to arrange an interview with Dr Thom, please contact Barbie Dutter, Media Coordinator, Amnesty International Australia on (02) 9217 7620 or 0422 869 439.