2016-06-20
On World Refugee Day, the Australian Greens have announced that they will push for a Royal Commission into the history of children in immigration detention at this election.
"Thousands of children have been damaged by the practice of mandatory, indefinite detention and it's time they were listened to," the Greens' immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
"Children are the most vulnerable, voiceless and all too often invisible victims of these cruel detention policies.
"A detention centre is no place for a child. They should be out in the community, with their parents, integrating and building a life in safety."
The Royal Commission would cover the Howard, Rudd/Gillard and Abbott/Turnbull administrations. The Parliamentary Budget Office has said a Royal Commission into children in detention would cost $61.2 million.
"Australia will have to reckon with this issue sooner or later," Senator Hanson-Young said.
"By acknowledging the damage that was done under a string of Federal Governments, we will take the first step towards healing.
"All children should be removed from Nauru immediately and the Greens will continue push for both a Royal Commission and the closure of the cruel offshore detention camps in the new Parliament."
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