Australia announces 'more humane' refugee policy
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
SYDNEY, July 29 (AFP): Australia today announced a "more humane" policy towards refugees, saying most asylum seekers will no longer be automatically locked up when they arrive in the country.
The move by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's centre-left Labor government, which won power last November, overturns a widely- criticised mandatory detention system which has seen some asylum seekers held in camps for years.
"A person who poses no danger to the community will be able to remain in the community while their visa status is resolved," Immigration Minister Chris Evans said.
The immigration department would have to justify the detention of any refugees every three months, and an ombudsman would review cases of anyone held for more than six months, Evans told reporters.
Children and their families will no longer be held in detention centres, he said, scrapping one of the most controversial aspects of the former policy.
"This isn't about a mass opening of the gates, this is about a more humane treatment of asylum seekers, a more humane detention policy," Evans said.
Evans said he would soon receive a departmental review of the cases of about 380 people who are now in detention and that the new policy would apply when deciding their fate.
Since taking over the immigration portfolio last year, he said, he had already reviewed the cases of 72 detainees who had been held for more than two years.
The move by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's centre-left Labor government, which won power last November, overturns a widely- criticised mandatory detention system which has seen some asylum seekers held in camps for years.
"A person who poses no danger to the community will be able to remain in the community while their visa status is resolved," Immigration Minister Chris Evans said.
The immigration department would have to justify the detention of any refugees every three months, and an ombudsman would review cases of anyone held for more than six months, Evans told reporters.
Children and their families will no longer be held in detention centres, he said, scrapping one of the most controversial aspects of the former policy.
"This isn't about a mass opening of the gates, this is about a more humane treatment of asylum seekers, a more humane detention policy," Evans said.
Evans said he would soon receive a departmental review of the cases of about 380 people who are now in detention and that the new policy would apply when deciding their fate.
Since taking over the immigration portfolio last year, he said, he had already reviewed the cases of 72 detainees who had been held for more than two years.