Migration Amendment (Protecting Babies Born in Australia) Bill 2014
Migration Amendment (Protecting Babies Born in Australia) Bill 2014
Submission by the Australian Human Rights Commission
19 August 2014
19 August 2014
31 October 2014
28 October 2014
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Introduction and acknowledgement
Thank you Andrew for your welcome.
Before I begin I would like to acknowledge that we meet on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to elders, past and present. May I also acknowledge Peter Greste’s parents and family who have joined us tonight.
I thank Al Jazeera for the invitation and congratulate them for its focus on sharing the human story in a depth that is unusual in this age of the five second doorstop grab.
17 October 2014
The Commission visited various immigration detention centres as part of the Inquiry.
The Commission was accompanied by various independent consultants including paediatricians and child psychiatrists. The following are some of the reports prepared by these consultants after their visits to immigration detention centres.
These expert reports do not represent the views of the Commission.
Visit to Christmas Island from 1 – 8 March 2014:
By Gillian Triggs
Posted 24 Jul 2014, 3:48pm
Photo: A drawing by a child in the Christmas Island detention centre in 2014. (Supplied: Australian Human Rights Commission)
Asylum seeker children and their families in detention on Christmas Island are plagued by despair and helplessness - and the situation is only deteriorating, writes Gillian Triggs.
A team from the Australian Human Rights Commission has just returned from Christmas Island where we met extremely distressed mothers and children - including a number of young mothers on 24-hour suicide watch.
The Commission has long held serious concerns about the impact of Australia’s mandatory immigration detention system, particularly on children.
In 1999-2000 the numbers of children in detention began to significantly increase. In November 2001, when there were over 700 children in detention, Human Rights Commissioner Dr Sev Ozdowski announced an inquiry into children in immigration detention. The Inquiry published its report, A last resort? National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention, in April 2004.
Please note: In accordance with the terms of the submissions process, the inquiry has:
The Commission notes that the submissions listed below may contain errors. The submissions do not represent the views of the Commission.