Australian immigration continues to prioritize vulnerable refugees
September 04 2009 by Matt Jones
Christmas Island: Move to Australia starts here
Confusion has been caused by Australian immigration moving a group of refugee children to the mainland before their visa processing was completed.
Sharman Stone, the opposition spokesman claimed that the Rudd government had made changes to the immigration policy. The claim was based on the moving of a group of ten children from Christmas Island to mainland Austarlia before their Australia visa application processing had been completed.
The Rudd government has reassured there has been no change in policy.
Senator Chris Evans explained the situation: “This is not the first vulnerable group that this or the previous government has moved from offshore to the mainland before their visa status has been finalised. Exceptions have been made for vulnerable people or those with health issues, for example pregnant women or people who are seriously ill. Decisions such as these are made on a case-by-case basis.”
The children arrived on Christmas Island on May 7th earlier this year and as policy dictates, they were detained in the care of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship at the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation centre. The children were still subject to the rules for offshore migrants and were still detained in care. They were moved to the mainland because better services can be provided there.
The Rudd government has provided $654 million to help combat the problem of people smuggling. The money pays for sea and air patrols
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