Ruddock warns rights officials

By KIRSTEN LAWSON

Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock warned Human Rights Commissioner Sev Ozdowski not to overstep the bounds of his authority when his officers visit the Woomera asylum-seeker protest tomorrow.

But Mr Ozdowski said the visit was within his rights and would take place as planned.

Mr Ruddock said the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission should not be trying to handle a "live issue" and should not get involved in detainees' complaints about processing of their claims.

"I wouldn't expect that that is either within their remit or that it's desirable for them to be seeking to take over, in any way, the direct responsibilities or to try and give orders," Mr Ruddock said.

Also yesterday, Mr Ruddock's advisory committee, headed by a former immigration minister John Hodges, visited Woomera in an attempt to defuse the hunger strike, which began last Tuesday.

But more detainees joined in, with 202 of the centre's 830 detainees, including 36 minors, refusing to eat yesterday afternoon, according to the Immigration Department.

Sixty-four had sewn their lips together, including two women and one minor. Six, including two children, had deliberately harmed themselves on Monday, and 18 had collapsed from dehydration. Two were in hospital.

Last night seven Woomera detainees were rushed to hospital after swallowing a toxic substance. An Immigration Department spokeswoman said 21 detainees were involved in a self-harm attempt.

An Afghan who participated in a hunger strike in December was among the 17 detainees released from the centre on temporary visas yesterday but the Immigration Department denied the release was prompted by the protests.

Dr Ozdowski, who said the detainees were in "immense stress and anguish", warned Australia may have breached the United Nations convention on the rights of the child.

"If it's correct what's reported in the media, then yes, I'm of the view that Australia doesn't conform with the convention," he told ABC Radio.

"The convention is saying the detention of any children should be used only as a measure of last resort.

"Should children be detained . . . the authorities should take all legislative and other measures to protect children from all forms of physical and mental violence."

Mr Ruddock responded, "One has to be careful about expressing opinions about obligations based upon some news reports. My view is that they should be objective inquiries."

Mr Hodges, who will report to Mr Ruddock this week, said most of the hunger strikers were outside on mattresses in the heat.

"It's not a very nice sight," he said. "But of course we have to recognise that that is something of their own doing. Nobody is forcing them to do what they are doing."

Children were "being encouraged by or following their parents" to join the strike, he said, but he did not support Mr Ruddock's suggestion that parents be separated from their children.

". . . there's a great bond in most families between the children and their parents," he said. "And I think it's an issue that has to be dealt with on a family-by-family basis."

Also yesterday, the Immigration Department strongly refuted claims by the chairman of Suicide Prevention Australia and head of the faculty of child and adolescent psychiatry at the Royal Australian College of Psychiatry, Michael Dudley, that conditions were "akin to concentration camps".

"They're not death camps . . . but the analogy is accurate in that there's quite a lot of institutional violence," Dr Dudley said. ". . . a tendency to use coercive management strategies and behavioural strategies with inmates - teargas, room-trashings, children being put in solitary confinement, being separated from their parents, being stood out in the hot sun, being called . . . terrorists or queue jumpers."

Dr Dudley said people were introduced by numbers, not names, there was no shade, the earth was bare, and the toilets were filthy and bloodstained.

But the department said there was no solitary confinement, there were shaded playgrounds, excursions were arranged and the children went to school.