“Wattle, wattle, more wattle - bottlebrush, too - anything to attract birds, chirped the Minister for Immigration, Amanda Vanstone, turning the first sod in the newest immigration detention centre.
There had to be fauna, plenty of birds. "You can hear them chattering away now," she said yesterday.
Outside in Miowera Road, Chester Hill, near the present Villawood detention centre, protesters such as Alanna Sherry, of Children Out of Detention, and Greens Senator Kerry Nettle had a different view of the proposed centre for up to 40 mothers and children.
Ignoring protesters' cries of "shame", Senator Vanstone described the centre, although guarded by security cameras and alarms, as utopian, upholding Australia's commitment to "border protection" but "softening the impact" on women and children.
The four duplex houses, each with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and two living and dining areas, are planned to be completed in March and ready to open next June.
Detainees would look out onto lawns, a barbecue area, a play area, a communal hall and inconspicuous fences instead of razor wire.
Senator Vanstone said the detention centre for children up to the age of 18 and women would provide facilities "much better than many, many Australians are able to access".
The concept was a success in Port Augusta and the Government had decided on similar centres at Villawood and Perth. Mothers would be better able to care for their daughters. Partners, although not allowed to live with them, could have frequent access. The children could go to schools and the families could go shopping.
Senator Vanstone said people smugglers should realise there was no point taking children on boats to smooth the passage into Australian society. The children would also be detained.
But Ms Sherry said such an argument meant the children were in effect being used as human shields.”
Wilcox in the SMH
No comments:
Post a Comment