Ruddock Must Resign or Stand Aside in Dealing

13 May 2004

A Just Australia today called on the Attorney-General Mr Ruddock to resign from the Cabinet in the wake of the report by the nation's human rights watchdog.

"The Human Rights Commission Report into children in detention centres clearly exposes a regime of institutionalised child abuse presided over by Mr Ruddock whilst he was Immigration Minister," the National Director of A Just Australia, Mr Howard Glenn, said today.

Amongst key Inquiry findings were:
· children in the centres were exposed to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment;
· 92% of the children who reached Australia via boat were found to be legitimate refugees;
· that the Inquiry was barred from examining the conditions of the children in Nauru.

The Report also calls for the removal of children currently in detention within the next four weeks. Mr Glenn said that 151 children are in detention now, more than half since before the Inquiry commenced nearly two and a half years ago;

"The Inquiry's findings and case studies of how these children have been treated shows an appalling regime of institutionalised child abuse presided over by the Australian authorities, the Department of Immigration and, ultimately, Minister Ruddock", Mr Glenn said today.

"The abuse of these children has been systemic and long-standing. It continues today. Their abuse results from a regime of secrecy, non-transparency, lack of accountability and lack of minimum standards.

"Mr Ruddock should resign for his role as the Immigration Minister which allowed this regime to flourish, despite clear and ongoing evidence over the last four years that children were suffering harm.

"Ministerial Accountability is essential. We believe that Mr Ruddock should be held responsible and if he does not resign, the Prime Minister should dismiss him from Cabinet for his performance as Immigration Minister," Mr Glenn said.

If Mr Ruddock did not resign or get dismissed from Cabinet, Mr Glenn said the only alternative was for the Government to relieve Mr Ruddock of his authority as Attorney-General for dealing with the Inquiry's report.

"As Immigration Minister Mr Ruddock was responsible for these abuses, and now as Attorney-General he is being asked to review and manage the recommendations of a major Report into the abuses", Mr Glenn said.

"I doubt many Australians would feel comfortable with this situation, but would see it as clearly inappropriate for Mr Ruddock to now sit in judgement on his own behaviour. He has a clear conflict of interest."

Mr Glenn said the only resolution to this conflict was for Mr Ruddock to assign or delegate his authority as Attorney-General to another Minister who could bring independence to the handling of the measures needed to deal with the Report findings.

"It is perverse in the extreme that Mr Ruddock could escape accountability because he has changed portfolios, and even more absurd that as Attorney-General he how has to sit in judgement on his own behaviour.

"This is a clear conflict of interest which offends basic democratic principles and principles of Ministerial responsibility and good government.

"At the very least Mr Ruddock should delegate his authority as Attorney-General and step aside from managing the steps needed to deal with the Human Rights Commission's findings.

"Ideally this authority should go to another senior Cabinet Minister, and if Mr Ruddock doesn't act the Cabinet must.

"We therefore call on the Prime Minister to take direct responsibility for ensuring an accountable and transparent process is put in place so the Australian public can be confident the issues raised in the Report are handled with complete integrity.

"Clearly this is a family friendly government - as this week's budget seeks to demonstrate.

"However asylum seekers and their children seem to be one group of families which are denied the government's compassion.

"We believe now is the is the time for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet to end this abuse by acting fairly, openly and with clean hands on the Report, to release these innocent children from custody and end the trauma we as a nation have inflicted upon them", Mr Glenn said.