Information Night with Senator Andrew Bartlett
On Monday 3 May 2004, ChilOut hosted an information evening with guest speakers
Senator Andrew Bartlett and two of his advisers, Marianne Dickie and Karen Lee.
Senator Bartlett spoke of the situation in the detention centre on Nauru, where many families have been detained for two and a half
years, with no end in sight. The
detainees have had almost no contact with the outside world and so the two visits by Senator
Bartlett, in July 2003 and January 2004, were much
welcomed. On the second visit, Ms Dickie had expected some anger on the part of the detainees because they were still incarcerated, but
there was none. On the contrary, she and Senator Bartlett were greeted by the asylum
seekers with flowers and incredible hospitality. The detainees wanted to share their
stories. Some told their stories again and again, to
make sure they were heard.
Ms Dickie spoke of the desperation of one family. While she was debating whether she could afford to spend the $2500 to fly to Nauru, the family's
father, living in Australia on a Temporary Protection Visa, pleaded with her, stating that he would
send her $50 a week to cover her airfare, if she would
only go to Nauru to meet with his wife and child. Ms Dickie refused the offer of money, and decided
there and then to make the trip to Nauru. His 5 year old child did not speak for
one and half days of the visit, but before Ms Dickie's departure the child said
"Tell Daddy I love him".
Ms Dickie also talked about the difficulties of many of the young women on Nauru. She congratulated a family for
having five beautiful girls,
and much to her surprise, this caused many tears. Back home in Afghanistan the girls would have had a male to escort them in the
streets. On Nauru they were totally unprotected, and subject to sexual harassment. This was a great burden on the family.
Senator Bartlett has previously been reluctant to say anything against Nauru's
government, but was highly
critical of their corrupt behaviour in denying entry to Australian lawyers
representing asylum seekers, who are challenging
the constitutionality of their detention on Nauru.
The Australian Government is pumping large sums of money into the Pacific island.
The country is bankrupt, and at present the "processing centre" is the
island's largest source of income. Rather than encouraging Nauru to respect the
rule of law, Australia is paying Nauru to undermine it.
Karen Lee spoke of the hardships of the children at the "housing project" at Port Augusta for the wives and children of Baxter detainees. Ms
Lee also accompanied Senator Bartlett to Baxter detention centre, where there are 10 children, and described the great sadness she felt upon leaving
them to the mercies of a "maximum security prison installation".
Senator Bartlett also talked about the repercussions of the High Court case of 29 April.
Within a day of the ruling, the Minister for Immigration declared the home where the children live a "place of detention", without consulting
them or their carers, or letting their
carers know that they were now deemed "designated officers" under the
immigration act. Senator Bartlett described the situation as unbelievable, and the Minister's actions
a virtual contempt of court. At the time court proceedings were taking place to decide the fate of the children, the Minister pre-empted that decision,
replacing the court's judgement with her own.
L to R: Marianne Dickie, Anthony Meggitt, Alanna Sherry, Sen.
Andrew Bartlett, Dianne Hiles, Jo Hind, Karen Lee.