ABC Online reports "a Senate inquiry investigating Australia's plan to send asylum seekers to offshore processing centres has heard comparisons to the treatment of Jewish refugees during the Holocaust.
The Immigration Department says international standards will be adhered to if a plan to process all asylum seekers offshore is approved by parliament.
The committee heard a range of legal and human rights arguments against the idea.
The Federal Government announced the change to asylum seeker law after a group of Papuans arrived on Cape York in January and the Indonesian Government expressed anger when Australia granted then temporary protection.
Former Federal Court Justice Ronald Merkel gave evidence today and compared offshore processing to Switzerland turning away Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany.
"The very context in which this bill has come before the Parliament, namely the West Papuans, has chilling reminders of what occurred in the Second World War," he said.
"This committee and the Senate stands between an un-erasable stain on Australia's human rights record if this bill becomes law."
No comments:
Post a Comment