The Australian Greens have today urged the federal government to change the ASIO Act after revelations another family has been torn apart and faces indefinite detention even though they have been granted refugee protection.
“The Greens were deeply upset by last night’s Lateline story on a young Sri Lankan woman and her two sons who have been removed from Melbourne to Villawood detention centre,” Greens’ immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young, said.
“Australia authorities found they were refugees and gave them shelter for the past year, but suddenly decided to detain them before they could even say goodbye to their family and friends.
“They are among almost 50 people, including several children, who are being detained indefinitely because they cannot challenge their ASIO adverse security assessments.
“Australia cannot claim to be the land of the fair go if, like Ranjini and her sons have found, you cannot appeal against an ASIO assessment, nor found out why the assessment was imposed.
“The Greens urge the government to immediately review Ranjini’s case and act on the recommendations of the Joint Select Committee into Australia’s Immigration Detention Network to bring basic procedural fairness to the way these ASIO assessments operate.
“We again call on the Attorney-General and the government to respond to the committee’s recommendations, because we are denying justice to refugees by refusing to let them appeal adverse security assessments.”
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