6 years ago
WELFARE OF CHILDREN ON NAURU
SHAYNE NEUMANN MP
Labor is seriously concerned by reports regarding the health and welfare of children in the Australian-funded regional processing centre on Nauru.
Peter Dutton has been the Minister responsible for Australian-funded regional processing centres for over three-and-a-half years and must immediately address his ongoing failures.
Today, Labor has written to Peter Dutton again, urging him to accept New Zealand's offer to resettle eligible refugees from Manus and Nauru - so that they – including children – are resettled as quickly as possible.
Nauru and Manus Island were set up as temporary regional processing centres but have become places of indefinite detention because of the out-of-touch Turnbull Government’s failure to negotiate other third country resettlement options.
Labor strongly believes that medical transfers for refugees and children in Australian-funded offshore regional processing centres should be made available when a treatment is not available on island and where treatment is recommended by appropriate medical practitioners.
If the Turnbull Government was able to negotiate appropriate conditions for the US refugee resettlement agreement to prevent people smugglers exploiting vulnerable people, they should be able to negotiate similar appropriate conditions for any deal with New Zealand.
It has been sixteen months since the report of the Labor-initiated Senate Inquiry following the leaked Nauru files and Peter Dutton has failed to act on these reasonable recommendations to address concerns held by the wider Australian community.
Peter Dutton’s unwillingness to implement, or even respond to, the recommendations set out in the report is unreasonable and irresponsible – especially when it comes to the health and welfare of refugees and children.
If Peter Dutton is too distracted by his leadership ambitions to address his failure to manage Australian-funded regional processing centres or negotiate other third country resettlement options, it’s time for Malcolm Turnbull to step in and clean up his Minister’s mess.