Doctors speak out over border protection policy

Sixteen Geraldton doctors have publicly spoken out against Federal Government border protection policy, calling for the immediate release of children from detention.

This comes as the Department of Immigration and Border Control confirmed almost half of those aboard a vessel which infamously limped its way into the Geraldton Port in April 2013 are waiting to be processed — 2 1/2 years after the fact.

A total of 66 men, women and children were taken into the care of the department after arriving in Geraldton on a tuna fishing boat, with the department confirming 27 of those people were at various stages of the application process or were having their cases reviewed.

Mid West general physician Charlie Greenfield has been calling on governments to address his concerns ever since the vessel first arrived in Geraldton, and said the “excessive” wait-times had only reinforced the need for legislative change.

“To be on a boat for that length of time (44 days) and to come into a port, I think the minimum expectation is you’d be given shelter, you’d be given a shower and you’d be treated like a human being,” he said.

“There is no limit to the detention, 2 1/2 years, how long is it going to continue? It’s just appalling, how can the Government expect these people to have a future?”

In November, the Senate passed the Migration and Maritime Powers Amendment Bill, which mandates the release of all children from Australian immigration detention centres.

In an open letter organised by Dr Greenfield, 16 Geraldton doctors urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton and Federal member for Durack Melissa Price to ensure passage of this Bill through Parliament, and to amend “appalling secrecy provisions” preventing health professionals and others from reporting abuse and human rights violations in detention facilities.

"It is unacceptable in our professional opinion that the Australian government knowingly places the health of vulnerable children at risk through its policy of mandatory immigration detention," the letter published in The Geraldton Guardian stated.

"The appalling secrecy provisions of the Australian Border Force Act, which actively restrict doctors from fulfilling their duty to advocate for the best interests of their patients, further compromise the health and safety of children in detention.

"We stand with our colleagues around the country in condemning the detention of children.

"We advocate that they must be released into the Australian community immediately where they can resume their childhoods and begin to recover from the harms inflicted by immigration detention."

In a statement, Ms Price said she acknowledged and respected the doctors’ stance but rejected claims penalties existed for raising concerns about conditions in detention.

“There has been a lot of misleading reporting on the Australian Border Force Act and I want to set the record straight,” she said.

“The ABF Act protects sensitive operational information from unauthorised disclosure — it doesn’t restrict anyone’s ability to raise genuine concerns about conditions in detention.

“The Government also has in place world-leading whistleblower protections through the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013.

“Any person who makes a public interest disclosure as defined within the PID Act is free to do so. They will not be subject to any criminal prosecution under the ABF Act.”

She said she was proud of her Government, as it had “significantly reduced” the number of children in detention from 1992 to 100 since coming into office.

Dr Greenfield said the world was watching Australia in this space and hoped in due time Ms Price would act in accordance with her Mid West constituents’ concerns.

“Traditionally, doctors come from a well-off background and do not generally agitate,” he said.

“When you’ve got a group of doctors, doctors who are traditionally conservative, willing to stand up and say, ‘hey something is happening here’ then yes I think you should listen.

“I believe Ms Price should be acting on behalf of her constituents … this is a pivotal issue and one Australia will be judged on and is being judged on.”

The vessel the Sri Lankan asylum seekers arrived on was recently donated to the Western Australian Museum.