Talks today over fate of children

The Age

ADELAIDE

Wednesday 23 January 2002

Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock will meet South Australian officials today amid growing state government concern over the safety of children at the Woomera Detention Centre.

SA Human Services Minister Dean Brown said the government feared the protests at Woomera were severely impacting on a number of children.

"I have grave concern for the safety of some of the children," Mr Brown told ABC radio.

"The clear advice is that these children cannot be left in a situation where they are put at risk by their own parents or other adults."

Of 202 people at the centre involved in hunger strikes over the slow determination of their applications for refugee status, 35 were children.

At least one of those, a boy, had his lips sewn together.

"That is absolutely unacceptable behaviour, that's mutilation of the child," Mr Brown said.

The minister said his officers had raised specific issues with the Immigration Department on a daily basis and talks with Mr Ruddock today would also address those issues.

"Yesterday it reached a point where there is a very broad concern now for the safety particularly of unaccompanied children," Mr Brown said.

However, the minister said his department had no authority to remove children from the detention centre.

Child rights lawyer Julie Redman said the state government was to applauded for taking up the issue with Mr Ruddock but questioned why it had taken more than a week for it to act.

Meanwhile, the Australian Democrats today called for the United Nations to take over supervision of the Woomera Detention Centre.

SA Democrat MP Sandra Kanck said the federal government was now incapable of managing the orderly processing of refugees.

"Calling in the United Nations will ensure the orderly and fair processing of asylum seekers," Ms Kanck said.