Children Out Of Detention: A Victory For Compassion And Commonsense

Children out of Detention: a Victory for Compassion and Commonsense


The Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) welcomes the Government's commitment to move children and families groups out of immigration detention facilities and into community-based accommodation.

The announcement yesterday by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Immigration that the Australian Government would "begin moving significant numbers of children and vulnerable family groups out of immigration detention facilities and into community-based accommodation" is a good beginning.

Long term detention has a deleterious effect on mental health, particularly for children, and any policy which applies compassionate and commonsensical solutions to that problem should be embraced.

"Accepting that mandatory detention is here to stay for refugees and asylum seekers, getting children out and into the community is a good result," said Maurene Horder. "The necessary security and health checks can and should be done at speed there is no reason for children to ever be imprisoned."

The Council on Immigration Services and Status Resolution (CISSR) will work with community organisations to oversee the policy's implementation, which should come to realisation by June 2011.

"It is difficult to understand why this process must take so long, and impossible to forecast exactly what types of restrictions and obligations the Minister will place on these children and families," said Horder. "This is, however, a profoundly positive result from a deeply regrettable situation."

The Government also announced new detention facilities to relieve the stress on the existing network and identified further contingency sites for those fleeing persecution and seeking Australia's assistance.


Available for Interview Contact
Maurene Horder
Chief Executive Officer
Migration Institute of Australia
www.mia.org.au


Contact
Brian Duff
Communications Manager
0432 937 862
[email protected]


SOURCE: Migration Institute of Australia (MIA)