30th July, 2014
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The cover of the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce report |
The Federal Government has been accused of “state sanctioned child abuse” over its policies regarding unaccompanied child asylum seekers.
Rev Peter Catt, the chair of the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce ” made up of representatives of nine Christian denominations including the Anglican, Baptist, Catholic and Uniting churches ” said in a statement that vulnerable children are being “locked away behind razor wire for the “crime” of being born in countries in political and social turmoil”.
“These children are held like animals in conditions that are inhumane; interrogated without support or representation; shipped around the country and offshore in the middle of the night; and denied basic rights including education,” he said.
“Given the government continues to ignore irrefutable independent evidence from health and legal experts about the plight of these children we have no hesitation in labeling this what it is ” state-sanctioned child abuse.”
Rev Catt, the Anglican Dean of Brisbane, said it is a “sick joke” that under the Guardianship Act, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison is the childrens’ guardian and de facto parent as well as their jailer.
Rev Catt”s comments came as the taskforce launched a report, Protecting the Lonely Children, which calls for changes to the Guardian Act so that Mr Morrison”s responsibilities for unaccompanied child asylum seekers would be handed to an independent guardian – ideally, a newly created Independent Statutory Office of Guardianship for Unaccompanied Minors.
The report also calls for an overhaul of the processes unaccompanied asylum seeker children face when trying to access protection, the end of offshore detention for unaccompanied minors and an inquiry by the Australian Human Rights Commission into the conditions for children in community detention programs.
A spokeswoman for Mr Morrison told Sight the minister rejected the "shocking and offensve" claims of state-sanctioned child abuse "categorically".
She said that the minister had not been sent the final report meaning it was "hardly fair for him to respond to a report that he has not yet seen or been given the courtesy to review to provide a response from the government".
"As the minister has previously stated wherever people have made claims they may have basis he will look to make improvements."
She said the "overwhelming majority" of unaccompanied minors in Australia live in the Australian community.
"The government takes the protection of children very seriously and is committed to ensuring they are protected from exploitation and abuse…Allegations of state sanctioned child abuse are an insult to all both in and outside of government who care for these young people."
The spokeswoman said the number of children in detention has declined from more than 1,300 at the time of the last election to 849 with the number on Christmas Island declining over the same period from 425 to 153.
The report can be found at www.australianchurchesrefugeetaskforce.com.au.
