It's official: the Australian government is abusing the rights of children

He is completely dysfunctional for his age and experiences bouts of depression and uncontrollable rage … the stresses for a young boy to represent the family under these circumstances is pushing him into extreme and dangerous behaviours.

Many other case studies on the mental health of children detailed in the report were equally distressing.

For those who worked in a detention centre, like myself as a teacher in the Woomera detention centre, it soon became apparent that mandatory detention as a system was not going to work. Children were the innocent and most vulnerable ones; they provided a sensitive barometer of the system. The capacity of parents to care for their children was compromised the longer they were in detention. This had further repercussions on the mental health of children. A culture of despair predominated. Single adults were no less a part of this culture.

The Inquiry is a damning indictment of the Howard Government and especially the Department of Immigration which was aware of how mandatory detention was affecting children. The report highlighted a fundamental breach of a child's right to be detained as a measure of last resort and for the shortest period of time. What was needed was not band-aid remedies or detention in housing projects but a radical revisal of the detention regime to allow families into the community while their claims are being processed, similar to those who come by air with a visa and then seek asylum. A non-provocative, safe and humane environment would meet the best interests of children with their families.

The Australian practice of mandatory detention is in the business of tearing the lives of children and family members apart. Robert Burns, if he were alive today, could well have altered his couplet to say, "Man's inhumanity to children makes countless mothers mourn". The Inquiry findings show that we can't compromise on human rights to the extent we have. We need an alternative to mandatory detention practices for refugees coming to Australia without a valid visa. And we need a constructive deterrent, rather than a destructive one, for dealing with a potential refugee crisis. This could involve Australia taking a more pro-active role in promoting a secure, peaceful and sustainable living environment in countries of instability.