Petition to ACM/DIMIA regarding access to grassy area

(To view the grassy area, click  here.)

To ACM and DIMIA

We the undersigned, have been informed that the outdoor grassed area at Maribrynong Immigration Detention Centre has only recently been made available to detainees on the following conditions, following repeated requests for access during the last six months :

It is reported that last Friday, five detainees were allowed into the area, accompanied by seven guards.

These conditions and restrictions are unacceptable on many humanitarian levels. We also question why Maribrynong is the only ACM institution that enforces such conditions and appears to breach the following Immigration Detention Standards :

4. SOCIAL INTERACTION

...
4.4 All detainees have access to education, recreation and leisure programs and facilities which provide them the opportunity to utilise their time in detention in a constructive and beneficial manner.

...
4.7 Detainees have unlimited access to open air except where the security and good order of the detention facility would be compromised or where the detainee is in isolation in which case supervised exercise periods are scheduled.

We urge ACM and DIMIA to address this issue immediately. We implore ACM to fullfil its obligations to allow detainees the basic right to open air and access to the outdoor grassed area.

In the name of humanity and the dignity of those in detention :

  1. Lyn Coleman, Melbourne, Australia
  2. Peter Cahill, Melbourne, Australia
  3. Carmen Mascia, Melbourne, Australia
  4. Lu Sexton, Melbourne, Australia
  5. Mary Sexton, Canberra, Australia
  6. Maurice Sexton, Canberra, Australia
  7. Romaine Rutnam, Canberra, Australia
  8. Tony Adams, Canberra, Australia
  9. Heather Saville, Coledale, NSW
  10. Clift Barnard, Coledale, NSW
  11. Rachel Darken, Brisbane, Australia
  12. Leon Petchkovsky, Gold Coast, Australia
  13. Clare Moleta, Melbourne, Australia
  14. Glenda Lindsay, Melbourne,Australia
  15. Miffy Edwards, Melbourne, Australia
  16. Steve Ballinger, Melbourne, Australia
  17. Susan Galambos, Shepparton Vic., Australia
  18. Fran Smullen, Shepparton, Vic., Australia
  19. Paul Teusner, Shepparton, Vic., Australia
  20. Anne Garrow, Melbourne, Australia
  21. David Langsam, Flemington, Australia
  22. Asheley Jones, Flemington, Australia
  23. Halinka Rubin
  24. Annette Rubin
  25. Mary McKenzie, Largs Bay, South Australia
  26. John McKenzie, Largs Bay, South Australia
  27. Jo Bothroyd, Canberra, Australia
  28. Duncan Blachford
  29. Deb Vallely
  30. Liz Dean, Melbourne, Australia
  31. Darryl Wade, Melbourne, Australia
  32. Maree Dean, Melbourne, Australia
  33. Mary-Jane Daffy, Melbourne, Australia
  34. Alison Dean, Melbourne, Australia
  35. Rosealie Vallance, Melbourne, Australia
  36. Suzanne Fermanis, Melbourne, Australia
  37. Tri Le, Melbourne, Australia
  38. Khoi Le, Melbourne, Australia
  39. Sylvie Leber, Melbourne, Australia
  40. Alan Matheson, Melbourne, Australia
  41. Dee de Beauchamps, Melbourne, Australia
  42. Steve Mullins, Melbourne, Australia
  43. Sue Leigh
  44. Spiro Economopoulos, Melbourne, Australia
  45. Margaret Jacobs, Melbourne, Australia
  46. Anke van der Sterren, Melbourne, Australia
  47. Beverley Snell, Melbourne, Australia
  48. Rowena Allen, Shepparton , Vic, Australia
  49. Christine Nunn, Caniambo, Vic, Australia
  50. Leah Healy, Melbourne, Australia
  51. Juliet Flesch, Melbourne Australia
  52. Aude Sowerwine, Melbourne, Australia
  53. Sharon Duthie, Australia
  54. viv mehes, Melbourne, Australia
  55. Lesley Thompson, Melbourne, Australia
  56. Moya Spicer, Melbourne, Australia
  57. Phillip Lim, Melbourne, Australia
  58. Annie Feith, Melbourne, Australia
  59. Bernard Barrett, Melbourne, Australia
  60. Grace McCaughey Newstead
  61. Rita Camilleri, Melbourne, Australia
  62. Sasha Mainsbridge, Melbourne, Australia
  63. Vanessa Macauley
  64. Mia Trujillo, Melbourne, Australia
  65. Mike Jansen, Melbourne, Australia
  66. Josephine Lee, Melbourne, Australia
  67. Shane Reside, Melbourne, Australia
  68. Cameron Rodda, Melbourne, Australia
  69. Adriana Konidaris, Melbourne, Australia
  70. Manoa Renwick
  71. Cath Renwick, Canberra, Australia
  72. Susan Conroy, Canberra, Australia
  73. Stella Conroy, Brisbane, Australia
  74. John Butler, Geelong, Vic, Australia
  75. Richard Bailey, Sydney, Australia
  76. Josie Spongberg, Sydney, Australia
  77. Anne McNevin, Canberra, Australia
  78. Dennis McNevin, Sydney, Australia
  79. Andrew Metcalfe, Sydney, Australia
  80. Lyn Frankovich, Sydney, Australia
  81. Patou Clerc, Sydney, Australia
  82. Bill Casey, Sydney, Australia
  83. Alan Mills, Hobart, Australia
  84. Sue Gore, Melbourne, Australia
  85. Patricia Woodcroft-Lee
  86. Alison Clouston
  87. Jo Boltin, Melbourne, Australia
  88. Daniel Flesch, Billinudgel NSW, Australia
  89. Patricia Hovey
  90. Mary Slivka, Hemmant QLD, Australia
  91. Project SafeCom Inc., Narrogin WA
  92. Margot Salom, Brisbane Australia
  93. Merelie Hall, Brisbane, Australia
  94. Jane Smith, Brisbane, Australia
  95. David Jordan Brisbane, Australia
  96. Ann Aboud, Brisbane, Australia
  97. Jackie Fisher, Sydney, Australia
  98. Ann Morrow, Melbourne, Australia
  99. John Power, Melbourne, Australia
  100. Martina Jordan, Brisbane, Australia
  101. Amir Ahmadi
  102. Norman Carson
  103. Monica MCCormack
  104. Josephine Keen
  105. Jean Jordan, Melbourne, Australia
  106. Jeff Jordan, Melbourne, Australia
  107. Nikki Warwick, Brisbane, Australia
  108. Julia Hamer, Melbourne, Australia
  109. Richard Barber, Melbourne, Australia
  110. Harry Throssell, Brisbane, Australia
  111. James Matthews, Brisbane, Australia
  112. Barry Allen, Brisbane, Australia
  113. Helen Davies, Melbourne, Australia
  114. Janet Carr, Castlemaine, Australia
  115. Rosalinda Rayne, Castlemaine, Australia
  116. Claire Csihar, Bendigo, Australia
  117. Jay Gardener, Bendigo, Australia
  118. Simon Imagin, Melbourne, Australia
  119. Jacky Imagin, Melbourne, Australia
  120. Angel Lancaster, Melbourne, Australia
  121. Betty Rogers, Melbourne, Australia
  122. Carmel Raffel
  123. Chris Raffel
  124. Kathryn Sproul, Adelaide, Australia
  125. Rosemary Luke, Adelaide
  126. Alice Garner
  127. Ingrid Crosser, Melbourne, Australia
  128. Ginny Rogers, Prangins, Switzerland

Here is the posting to mdc-watch which started the ball rolling:

This morning ACM offered access to the grassed area. But there was a catch. Only one person at a time would be allowed out there, to be accompanied by four ACM guards. What's more, ACM staff would choose which detainees would be invited to enjoy this treat. (Divide and conquer - do you want to be among the favoured or the punished?)

Needless to say all the inmates, save one elderly Afghan, refused to take part in this cruel and controlling example of ACM trickery. What's the betting ACM will now claim that detainees have been offered access to the grassed area but now say they don't want it?

This was closely followed by another posting:

... When I was out at Maribyrnong last Friday, I was told that the guards had allowed 5 detainees on the grassed area at a time, accompanied by 7 guards.The thing to do would be to try for permission to organise a cricket competition (what could be more Australian than that?) and point out that 22 people are required as a minimum...

Have you sent your email to Lyn Allison? If not, I urge you to do so. She's our best hope at the moment.

As suggested above, I sent an email to Senator Allison, and received the following very prompt reply:

Thank you, Peter. I did raise this and other matters at Senate Estimates last Wednesday night. Attached is the Hansard. It is rather lengthy and many of the answers by DIMIA are long-winded or taken on notice but you might find it of interest. I don't think they are enjoying this level of scrutiny!

Regards and keep up your good work in support of the detainees.
Lyn Allison

The extracts from Hansard to which Senator Allison refers can be seen   here. The part dealing specifically with the grassed area is as follows:

Senator ALLISON �Okay. There was discussion earlier about the four-metre high razor wire fence which now surrounds the entire area. Access to a grassed exercise area was promised, I think, in the Senate committee's report into detention centres more than a year ago, and certainly six months ago the fence was up around this area. But even as I speak there is no general access to the area. Given that most of the detainees, I would imagine, pose no security threat, it is hard to understand why, when this is completely surrounded by such a fence, it is not available. Can you shed any light on that?

Ms Godwin �The fence is there, but there has been a range of issues about the fence. Without delaying the committee too long, part of the issue is that in the case of Maribyrnong the project to build the fence was in fact managed by the department of finance and not by us. There has been a range of issues around the detailed completion of the project, including some problems with final completion with some of the security issues to do with the fence�the computer system and various things. As a result�again, this is the advice I have�the green area is being used but only under supervision.

So you are right: there is not general access to the green area, which is what we would hope to move to as soon as we can, but the area is being used by groups under supervision.

Senator ALLISON �Today's advice was that only one person at a time was permitted to be in the area and then there would be four detention officers present at the time. Why would there be the need for such a small number�

Ms Godwin �Sorry? Today's advice from whom?

Senator ALLISON �Maribyrnong.

Ms Godwin �Sorry, are you saying that is from the centre or from a detainee?

Senator ALLISON �From a detainee.

Ms Godwin �Again, that is not my advice, but I will check.

Senator ALLISON �Could you provide me with information on the size of the groups that are now being allowed and why it is the case. One would have thought that if they are under supervision it should be possible for more than a small group to be there.

Finally, here are some comments that came with replies to the petition email:

Dear everyone,
please sign this and pass it on if you can. This is yet another basic deprivation to endure for refugees/asylum seekers/immigrants detained at Maribrynong....Recently the heating broke down and was out of action for several weeks, despite repeated requests to get it fixed. Those of you in Melbourne know how cold it's been recently, so you can imagine what it was like in the centre at night - especially for detainees sleeping on the floor. Needless to say, the heating in the guards' quarters remained functional throughout.

Detainees take some risk in passing this kind of information on - ACM and DIMIA need to know that many people are receiving and reacting to it for there to be any hope of making them fulfill their obligations...


I am outraged by the access restrictions to the outdoor grassed area at Maribrynong Immigration Detention Centre.

What if it was you?

Or what if you had the power/ability to do something about it?

Why wouldnt you?

Please do all in your power to bring humanity and compassion to Australia.

This was one of the human rights issues detainees went on hunger strike for several months ago. ACM gave an assurance that the outdoor space would be made available to detainees within two weeks of the cessation of the hunger strike.

This may seem like a small issue, but in the context of the rights of detainees being consistently denied and their humanity and dignity eroded, this is important.


Back to Home Page
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1