The Joint Select Committee on the Immigration Detention Network was damning in its assessment of the problems within the system, such as the urgency of time limits on detention, that cannot be ignored, the Australian Greens said today.
“The Government and Coalition are opposed to time limits and are trying to treat this as business as usual,” Greens’ immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young, said.
“This is just simply impractical and inhumane – and is wasting billions of tax payer dollars.
“Scott Morrison says time limits won’t work, well the experts including doctors with the Australian Medical Association disagree.
“These experts are also clear that it is urgent the government act now to fix persistent failings within the detention network, not delay them until September, the date the Immigration Minister says the government will respond.
“Asylum seekers who are suffering the damage of detention, including 250 people who have been detained longer than two years, are at breaking point and cannot afford to wait six months.
“The Greens urge the government to immediately act on the recommendations as part of the May Budget, and start to undo the repeated mistakes the final report says need to be fixed.”
Media contact: Paris Lord 0427 604 760
0