From AAP
23jan02
IMMIGRATION Minister Philip Ruddock was today holding his ground in the Woomera row after the resignation of a senior adviser and the hospital treatment of seven unconscious detainees.
He acknowledged the contribution of one of the federal Government's most senior advisers, who reportedly quit over the treatment of asylum seekers.
But he argued advocate groups outside the Woomera Detention Centre, where detainees swallowed toxic substances overnight, were not discouraging self-harming behaviour.
Neville Roach was appointed by Mr Ruddock to chair the Council for Multicultural Australia but resigned saying compassion seemed to have been thrown out the door, according to a newspaper report today.
The minister said Mr Roach's contribution to the Government had been "considerable" over the years, but refused to speculate on his resignation.
"Neville has been a very considerable contributor over ... some five or six years to government and we value the contribution he's made," Mr Ruddock told the Seven Network's Sunrise program.
"There are issues on which there has been some difference and the matter of his resignation is really a matter for him.
"But I'm grateful for the contribution that he's made in the past and I'll leave it at that."
Mr Roach reportedly said Australia's immigration program had been given an unwelcome and negative image and the minister should hand responsibility for asylum seekers to one of his ministerial colleagues.
Seven men were rushed to hospital overnight after swallowing a toxic substance at Woomera in on-going protests over conditions and visa application delays.
The men were among 21 detainees who ingested a substance, believed to be shampoo or detergent.
Mr Ruddock said today there seemed to be advocate groups outside the centre who were not discouraging the detainees from behaving in this way.
"I think that there is a determination on the part of some people to see the system unwind," he told the Seven Network.
"And they're people, some of them themselves who have claims and are before the courts or otherwise involved in proceedings with my department, who believe that if the system itself unwinds, the border of control in relation to Australia will essentially be of no impact and those that want to come, whether they meet selection criteria or not, will be able to continue to do so.
"It is an issue in which there are some people who believe that we ought not to have borders and believe that controls in relation to immigration are inappropriate and would like to see them unwound.
"(Situations like this) are being manipulated in a considerable degree when you see the linkages between this group and people now in other detention centres saying they are going to behave in the same way.
"This is emboldened in part by the extent to which there are groups of people outside who purport to advocate on behalf of (asylum seekers) but are obviously in touch with them and certainly not discouraging them from behaving in this way."
He said the federal Government was ensuring people knew and understood the processes under which visas can be obtained in Australia, and that "inappropriate behaviour is not going to influence those decisions or have any impact on the processing of them".
Mr Ruddock will receive a detailed report on the incident today, but said the centre would not necessarily be removing everyday products like shampoo.
"The difficulty you've got in an environment like this you can't necessarily remove all of the amenities that are part and parcel of life and prevent them from being used for self harm," he said.
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