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DR OZDOWSKI: My name is Dr Ozdowski and I am the Human Rights Commissioner and we are conducting an Inquiry into Children in Detention. To my left is Mrs Robin Sullivan who is Assistant Commissioner for the Inquiry and in her other life, she is Queensland Children's Commissioner and to my right is Professor Trang Thomas, Professor of Psychology at the Melbourne Institute of Technology and she is also Assistant Commissioner. Also to my left is Mrs Vanessa Lesnie and she is Secretary to the Inquiry.

Indigenous imprisonment rates in Australia are unacceptably high. Nationally, Indigenous adults are 13 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Indigenous people[1] and Indigenous juveniles are 28 times more likely to be placed in juvenile detention than their non-Indigenous counterparts.[2]

In accordance with the general principle stated at Guideline 2 and the UNHCR [1] Guidelines on Refugee Children, minors who are asylum seekers should not be detained…

The Commission would like to thank the children and young people who participated in the project and demonstrated great courage in allowing us to hear and tell their often painful and traumatic stories, in a hope that things would change for the better.

DR OZDOWSKI: I would like to formally open the second day of hearings in Adelaide. This is one of the hearings conducted around Australia for the National Inquiry into Children in Detention. My name is Sev Ozdowski, I'm the Human Rights Commissioner. With me is Mrs Robin Sullivan to my left, who is Queensland Children's Commissioner, and Dr Trang Thomas, on my right, is Professor of Psychology at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. They are Assistant Commissioners helping me with the Inquiry.

DR OZDOWSKI: I would like to formally open this public hearing which is one of a series of hearings conducted around Australia. My name is Sev Ozdowski and I'm the Human Rights Commissioner. I have two colleagues sitting with me, Mrs Robin Sullivan who is Queensland Children's Commissioner, who is assisting with the Inquiry and Dr Trang Thomas who is Professor of Psychology at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology who is the second Assistant Commissioner. I also have Ms Vanessa Lesnie, sitting to my left and she is Secretary to the Inquiry and she will also ask some of the questions.

On 27 July 2000, the Commonwealth government and the Northern Territory Government signed an agreement for the establishment of a juvenile pre-court diversion scheme in the Northern Territory (NT). This agreement arose specifically as a response to the continued criticism of the NT’s mandatory minimum imprisonment laws and their impact on juveniles and Indigenous people. By establishing the pre-court juvenile diversionary scheme, the NT has belatedly joined most other states and territories in Australia in providing such options for dealing with juvenile offenders.

<p><a name="anchor" id="anchor"></a> </p> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="BodyText" --><h1><a href="/social_justice/sj_report/sjreport10/index.html"><b><a name="top" id="top"></a></b></a>Social Justice Report 2011</h1> <p><a href="/social_justice/sj_report/sjreport10/index.html">Back to Contents</a></p> <h1>Appendix 2: Chronology of Events Relating to the Administration of<br> Indigenous Affairs</h1> <p>1 July 2010 – 30 June 2011</p>

Pursuant to section 11(1)(f)(ii) of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cth), I attach a report of my inquiry into complaints made by twenty six immigration detainees at the Curtin Immigration Reception and Processing Centre. I have found that acts or practices of the Commonwealth, namely placing some of the complainants in separation detention for periods of between three and eight months, were inconsistent with or contrary to the human rights of those detainees as provided for in Article 10(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

<h3>2.1 Mandatory immigration detention</h3> <p>It is mandatory under the Migration Act for every non-citizen who is in Australia without a valid visa to be detained, regardless of his or her individual circumstances.<sup><a href="#fn24" name="fnB24">[24]</a></sup> Once detained, unlawful non-citizens must remain in detention until they are either granted a visa or removed from Australia.<sup><a href="#fn25" name="fnB25">[25]</a></sup></p>

<p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The Terms of Reference required the Review to make recommendations on initiatives to drive cultural change at ADFA regarding the treatment of women. To properly identify these initiatives, the Review needed to assess the culture as it currently exists. Part of this process involved examining the notion of military culture generally and, more specifically, the culture for women at ADFA.</p>

<p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The Terms of Reference required the Review to make recommendations on initiatives to drive cultural change at ADFA regarding the treatment of women. To properly identify these initiatives, the Review needed to assess the culture as it currently exists. Part of this process involved examining the notion of military culture generally and, more specifically, the culture for women at ADFA.</p>

On 21 June 2007, the Australian Government announced a ‘national emergency response to protect Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory’ from sexual abuse and family violence.[1] This has become known as the ‘NT intervention’ or the ‘Emergency Response’. The catalyst for the measures was the release of Report of the Northern Territory Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, titled Ampe Akelyernemane Meke Mekarle: ‘Little Children are Sacred’.