The Commonwealth Ombudsman released its annual report on conditions in immigration detention facilities. Among the findings, the Ombudsman found that the high security wing of the Villawood Detention Centre (Blaxland compound) was unfit for use due to overcrowding and poor facilities. The government has stated that the compound is due to be demolished this year. The Ombudsman reported concern about the conditions of detention in hotels, which are being used as Alternative Places of Detention (in Brisbane and Melbourne). It found them to be inappropriate due to lack of outdoor space and the fact that medical consultations are being conducted in rooms that do not afford sufficient privacy. The public release of the report has come about since Australia signed the UN Optional Protocol on the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) in 2017.
A group of refugees were injured in an attack on their Port Moresby accommodation on Tuesday night. The refugees, who were previously detained on Manus Island, reported that they were accosted by a group of drunk men and the situation escalated into a fight as they tried to force their way into the accommodation yelling "we will kill you; get out of our country." According to the refugees the police were unable to respond immediately because they had no fuel in their squad car. A policeman reportedly arrived at the scene some hours later and dispersed the crowd with a gunshot fired into the air.
A federal court judge agreed that the government had been “overenthusiastic” in redacting the documents that were given to the lawyers representing the Biloela family. The comments were made in a pre-hearing for the family’s 22 February court date. The documents included discussions between Minister Dutton and the Sri Lankan Government, which the government argues required redacting due to national security concerns. The judge noted he was inclined to agree but reserved his decision about whether their full disclosure would be necessary until the full hearing was underway. The family remains detained on Christmas Island and are engaged in an ongoing legal case to stop their deportation.
The Australian newspaper published a detailed background on the case of the so-called ‘Biloela family’ who are fighting deportation. The article detailed how they came to be in Australia, their asylum history and their experience of detention. It published a follow-up report that the family could be moved into a house owned by the Commonwealth on Christmas Island in anticipation that the legal case may take atleast another year to conclude.
Latest figures, reported in the Age showed that around 50,000 people who entered Australia by plane and have failed in their asylum claim, remain in Australia. The report stated that in the past month less than two dozen of them were deported, indicating the backlog is growing.
A detainee at the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation (MITA) complained of heavy handed treatment by security guards that resulted in him requiring treatment for broken bones twice in the past four months. The detainee claimed that his collar bone was broken when officers pinned him down after he had threatened self-harm. Additionally, he claimed that his elbow was fractured after he was restrained by guards following an altercation. Serco, the company responsible for security at immigration detention facilities in Australia, refused to comment on the first incident and stated that the second incident started when the detainee had damaged property.