Public Hearing - 19 September 2003

OPENING REMARKS

DR SEV OZDOWSKI, HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER

I would like to welcome everybody to this hearing of the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention.

Those of you who have been following this Inquiry closely may be unclear as to why this hearing is taking place, as I had said in December 2002 that those would be the last of the Inquiry’s hearings.

I will therefore briefly set out the history and methodology of the Inquiry to this point, which will take us to why we are here today.

I will then set out what steps remain to be completed after this hearing has concluded and prior to publication.

Finally, I will set out the proposed procedure for today’s hearing.

1. Methodology of the Inquiry to Date

The Inquiry was announced on 28 November 2001. At that time the Inquiry called for public submissions and set a deadline of 15 March 2002. Due to a large number of requests for extensions the Inquiry extended that date to 3 May 2002 and the Inquiry has, at its discretion, accepted further submissions since that time. The Inquiry has received 345 submissions, including 70 confidential submissions.

Submissions have taken a variety of forms, including tapes, drawings, and poetry as well as detailed commentary by organisations representing detainees, human rights and legal bodies, members of the public, religious organisations, state government agencies and a range of non-government policy and service-providing groups. Most of the public submissions for which we were able to obtain an electronic copy have been placed on the Commission’s website.

The Inquiry visited all immigration detention facilities in Australia between January 2002 and December 2002. We visited Woomera three times. During each visit we conducted a tour of the facility, spoke to DIMIA and ACM staff present at the centre, and interviewed all families and children who wished to speak to us. Over the period we conducted a total of 112 interviews with children and their parents. All of those interviews were conducted on the basis that the identity of those detainees would be protected.

Also, over 2002, the Inquiry has conducted 27 focus groups with children, parents and some other ex-detainees now living in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane on temporary protection visas. Those focus groups were also conducted on the understanding that the identity of the refugees would be protected.

Between May 2002 and August 2002, the Inquiry held hearings in Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane to allow members of the community, state government agencies, NGOs and former ACM staff, amongst others, an opportunity to provide further information and evidence to the Inquiry. The Inquiry heard from more than 60 individuals and groups in the public hearings. The transcripts have been on the Inquiry’s website for some time.

The Inquiry also heard evidence from more than 20 individuals and groups in in camera hearings. Several of those witnesses subsequently agreed to make their evidence public. In particular, the South Australian Department of Human Services and many of the former ACM staff who originally gave evidence in confidence, have now given us permission to publicise their evidence. Those transcripts are also available on the Inquiry’s website.

Throughout 2002 the Inquiry received evidence from the Department and ACM in the form of documents provided pursuant to the five Notices that the Inquiry issued to each of them. Those documents take a variety of forms and cover a range of issues relevant to the Inquiry. The Department also provided a submission in May 2002.

The Inquiry had intended to hold a public hearing to allow the Department of Immigration and ACM to give oral evidence to the Inquiry in September 2002. However, on 27 August 2002, the Department of Immigration asked that the Inquiry postpone the public hearings and consider submissions as to confidentiality. The Inquiry granted this request and on 9 October made confidentiality orders and set 2-5 December as the new date for the public hearings.

Accordingly, for four days in December the Inquiry heard evidence from the Department and ACM on various issues, including:

• the Department’s mechanisms for monitoring compliance with human rights in immigration detention
• the care of unaccompanied children in detention
• the mechanisms to deal with the deteriorating mental health of families in detention
• education in detention facilities
• provision of services to families with disabilities.

The transcripts of those hearings are also available on the Inquiry’s website.

After those hearings had concluded, the Inquiry commenced writing a draft of the report containing its tentative factual findings and its preliminary view as to whether there may have been any breaches of human rights.

The Inquiry provided a copy of that draft report both to the Department of Immigration and ACM. The purpose of sending that draft was to give both parties the opportunity to respond to any of the tentative findings that the Inquiry had made regarding possible breaches of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and, if they wished, to provide further evidence or submissions on any of the matters raised in the draft report.

ACM has provided the Inquiry with written responses to the draft report. ACM also requested the opportunity to make oral submissions in addition to its written submissions. It is for that reason that this hearing is being held.

ACM initially indicated that it also wished to present oral evidence to the Inquiry. It no longer seeks to do so, but has provided me with some written witness statements, which I have accepted.

2. What will happen after these hearings?

Subject to the submissions made today, this is how the Inquiry intends to proceed.

Once this hearing has finished, the Inquiry will consider all the evidence and submissions and reach its final conclusions.

If the Inquiry concludes that there have been acts or practices inconsistent with, or contrary to any human right, the Inquiry’s proposed course of action is to serve ACM and DIMIA with a notice setting out the findings, the reasons for those findings and any recommendations. ACM and DIMIA will be asked at that time to advise the Inquiry of what, if any, action it is taking as a result of the findings and recommendations. Those matters will be reflected in the final report which the Inquiry will transmit to the Commonwealth Attorney-General. The Attorney-General must table the report in Parliament within 15 parliamentary sitting days.

Given the sequence of events I have just described, I am hopeful that the report will be tabled in the early Parliamentary sittings of 2004.

3. Procedure for the hearing

I will ask Counsel for ACM to start by making his submissions. I will then ask Counsel Assisting the Inquiry to make his submissions. Counsel for ACM may then reply to those submissions if he wishes. I note that Counsel for ACM has indicated that he is of the view that this hearing is unlikely to extend beyond today.