Australian detention centre will 'erupt soon'
February 02 2010 by Liam Clifford
As the centre on Christmas Island reaches 97% capacity, fears are raised over the mental state of detainees.
Criticism of the Australian government over their handling of asylum seekers is again in the news today. Following last weeks damnation by the Australian of the year, Patrick McGorry, over the effect of detention centres on mental health, a human rights researcher from Curtin University has today said that the detention centre on Christmas Island will reach melt-down very soon.
The researcher, Linda Briskman, claims that the manner in which Australian immigration carry on filling the centre to capacity is gradually fuelling a culture of anxiety and aggression among its detainees.
Linda Briskman, has published numerous works on the subject of asylum seekers and has had a notable career as a researcher and activist on the subject of indigenous policy and practice, asylum seekers and refugees, professional ethics and rural issues.
Currently there are 1,628 prisoners being held on the Island’s detention centre, this is set to increase to 1,809 as 181 refugees were detained by Australian immigration yesterday, the capacity of the centre is 1,848. The new arrivals will bring the capacity up to 97%
Speaking yesterday she said;
“It's just un-workable and it's going to cause eruptions from time to time and I think that's pretty much inevitable.
“There's going to be more anxiety and uncertainty the greater the numbers.”
According to spokespersons for the Australian immigration minister, Chris Evans, plans are underway to increase the facilities capacity to 2,200.
The argument between Australia’s two main political parties continues to rumble, with the opposition again slamming Kevin Rudd’s policy on immigration in light of the most recent news; immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, calling it a ‘sea highway visa factory’. What he failed to disclose however is what his party would have done differently.
See the latest Immigration News
