10,0000 Australians say NO to Christmas Island detention

14 June 2007

A Just Australia, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, National Council of Churches and Refugee Action Collective have gathered over 10,000 signatures on a petition that calls for the closure of the Christmas Island detention centre.

The petition is being handed to concerned members of three major parties, Dr Carmen Lawrence and Senators Andrew Bartlett and Kerry Nettle on Thursday 14th June, the last sitting day of parliament before World Refugee Week begins on Sunday 17th June.

"In response to World Refuge Week, we'd like to see cross-party support for closing the Christmas Island detention centre and halting policies that have caused Australia to be in breach of our responsibilities to refugees." said Kate Gauthier, National Coordinator.

The cost of building the detention centre on Christmas Island has blown out to around $400 million, showing once again that offshore processing is economic irrationalism.

"The financial costs are ridiculous, but the cost to asylum seekers is to see their legal rights stripped away with a greater risk of being returned to places where they face persecution. There is also the cost to Australia of seeing our international reputation further harmed by such policies." said Kate Gauthier.

Offshore centres allow for the Government to engage in detention and deportation practices that would otherwise attract media and public attention on the mainland.
"The centre includes facilities such as a babies compound, making a mockery of the Prime Ministers past promises that children would be detained as a measure of last resort." said Kate Gauthier

"Human rights advocates are not asking the government to spend more money on asylum seekers - ironically in this case we are pleading with them to spend less."