Australias hidden shame

[dudeness]

our own Gitmo bay..shame..Howard ..shame

Community Calls on Vanstone to Get Kids Out of Detention: 96 children still behind razor wire

Community leaders and children's groups today joined with the Labor Party to call on new Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone to mark the beginning of Children's Week and Refugee Week by releasing all children from Australian detention centres.

"There are currently over 186 kids being held by Australia in detention – 96 are on Australian soil, and the rest in Nauru," Labor's immigration spokesperson Nicola Roxon told a community gathering outside Senator Vanstone's Adelaide office today.

Ms Roxon said many of these children have been in detention for over two years.

"We call on Senator Vanstone to mark this year's Children's Week by getting children those into the playground, and out of the prison yard," Ms Roxon said.

"There is a consistent view across the community that all children have the right to grow up in loving and caring environment, with the chance to play and explore – this cannot happen behind the razor wire.

"Senator Vanstone should do what her predecessor Philip Ruddock could not bring himself to do and make a decision that lets children develop in a caring, open and free environment."

Ms Roxon suggested the new Minister start her job with the following actions:

Immediately release all children from detention.
Stop spending public money on court cases arguing to keep children behind razor wire.
Urgently reassess all people in detention who have been there for more than 90 days, using a publicly accountable process.
Introduce a Green Card for all non-citizens who have work rights and implement sanctions against businesses and employers who use illegal workers to undercut Australian wages and conditions.
Stop dehumanising and demonising asylum seekers.
Boost funding to UNHCR to provide more support to countries of first asylum.
Close immigration processing centres on Nauru and Manus Island.
Introduce a special humanitarian visa category for the East Timorese.
Introduce a transparent, accountable and fair procedure for the exercise of Ministerial discretion.
Take urgent action to investigate allegations about government officials promoting and encouraging passport and travel fraud by failed asylum seekers being deported from Australia.

snip...http://www.alp.org.au/media/1003/20006117.html

[jonoboy]

1. She is one tough lady.

I'm surprised she hasn't called them 'welfare bludgers'.
Oh thats right they get billed for their own keep.

[gemini_liberal]

2. thankyou for posting this.

I think it's important for everybody to know that Australians have our fare share of shame. It is also shameful that there is a lot of idiotic nationalism in this country that supports our government doing that kind of crap. Truly sad.

To complete a popular analogy on here, if Shrub is the next Hitler, then I can guarantee you that Howard is the next Mussolini (or Petain, I'm not sure which.)

[dudeness]

3. my pleasure..

at least this is one area of policy differentiation labor has with the liberal party..more of us should join the labor party to ensure those gulfs widen even further..

[gemini_liberal]

4. well actually, I am a Democrat...

but I support Labour anyday over the Conservatives (I refuse to call them Liberals)