Move all asylum-seeker processing onshore

Christmas Island's name attests to its colour and spectacular wildlife. But sadly, this place means anything but presents and goodwill for the asylum seekers who are detained there. Christmas Island Immigration Detention centre is a temporary processing facility which holds almost 3,000 asylum seekers who have arrived, in general, by boat.

Yesterday, the High Court of Australia held that the rule of law must be followed by decision makers employed by the Australian Government, including companies contracted by the Immigration Department.

The Court upheld a challenge by two Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers who had their refugee claims rejected. The men had tried to challenge the decision in the courts, but were unable due to their detention on Christmas Island.

The High Court voted unanimously that this was an error of law and that the two men were denied procedural fairness when Government contractors reviewed their case.

"According to the High Court, the persons employed by the contracting company engaged by the Department of Immigration to assess reviews of asylum seekers claims for refugee status "did not treat the provisions of the Migration Act 1958 (Commonwealth) and the decisions of Australian courts as binding, and, further, failed to observe the requirements of procedural fairness".

Bishop Joe Grech, Australian bishops' spokesperson on refugee matters said that it would probably be a surprise to Australians to know that asylum seekers' access to legal advice and the courts was not always satisfactory and at times could lead to serious danger if forced to return to their countries.

"It is a matter of great concern that people who are tasked with reviews that can be life or death matters are not required to consider the basic rules of Australian law", Bishop Grech said.

"Following this significant judgement, surely the time has come to address the situation and to consider seriously moving all asylum-seeker processing onshore", Bishop Grech said.

In a statement on Thursday immediately following the High Court's decision, the Catholic Church in Australia stated forcefully that, in their experience, the experience of detention, particularly in remote locations is unjust. This call comes from very concrete and distressing experiences gleaned from pastoral ministry on these detention centres.

The Church has been involved in the delivery of pastoral care to asylum seekers since the early days of Immigration Detention, most notably in Baxter and Woomera, but also in Port Hedland, Villawood, Maribyrnong, Curtin and others.

Since January, 2010 the Catholic Church in Australia has had a continuous collaborative ministry to asylum seekers on Christmas Island, which is administered by the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO), the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) and the Archdiocese of Perth (The Archdiocese under which Christmas Island falls).

JRS Australia Director Fr Sacha Bermudez Goldman SJ says that this is an extremely important work of presence, but that they wish it wasn't a necessary one.

"We wish we didn't have to be on Christmas Island and on Curtin. We wish that people weren't kept in detention", said Fr Sacha.

Sr Joan Kelleher is an Australian Mercy Sister who has been on Christmas Island since March, 2010. She spends around six hours in the detention facilities each day and candidly describes the overcrowding and challenges.

"At one point, there were 2,900 people and a boat of 81 people was down at the shore, waiting for the swell to calm before they were brought ashore, and yet the centre is already totally beyond its capacity. Because flights haven't been able to leave the island, they can't take people whose visas have been approved to the mainland because of the monsoon season, which means transfers of large numbers can't take place, only flights which hold six to eight people."

ACMRO Director Fr Maurizio Pettena CS says that he hopes the High Court judgement will lead to a huge shift of thinking on asylum policy in Australia and that the uncertainty involved in immigration can be lessened.

"Not knowing what awaits you is the worst thing for these people…if they knew that they would have a visa in 12 to 18 months, it would be something to look forward to, but that's not the case. Much of this is because of the lack of access to proper legal channels."

"The common opinion out there is that these are people who have taken the easy way to come to Australia, that they are illegals. This is simply dishonest. These people have every right to seek asylum in Australia."

Mere political expediency is no justification for detaining such people in remote areas, and we have much to answer for in how we treat people who flee persecution said Bishop Grech yesterday.

"Following this important ruling of the High Court, I call upon the Australian Government to take immediate steps so that asylum seekers currently held in detention would be afforded the protection and the justice enshrined by the Migration Act", Bishop Grech said.