Scathing reports on treatment of Kiwis in Australian detention centres
13 January 2017
David White - Fairfax NZ
Australia's tough stance on Kiwis in detention centres won't change because it would be “an admission that what they're doing is wrong,” says Labour's corrections spokesman Kelvin Davis.
New measures introduced by the Australian government in 2014 provide for the mandatory cancellation of visas for any foreign national sentenced to at least one year's jail, or those convicted of sex offences against children.
The Ombudsman found immigration authorities had failed to cancel visas well before the estimated date of a prisoner's release. The result was a “prolonging family separation” and breaking a promise to prioritise the best interests of young children affected by visa cancellations.
Kelvin Davis, who has travelled to Christmas Island where more than 200 Kiwis are still being held in detention, said the policy of keeping them there breached human rights and made no fiscal sense.
Read the Stuff article.