Refugees could be in detention for decades with new laws

Image:While some of the refugees at the Kangaroo Point accommodation are free, more are in detention centres, with potential lifetime stay with the new laws.

In a suprising move, the Federal government rushed laws in Parliament yesterday allowing refugees a lifetime in detention centres.

It is the first law proposed by the new Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews, and it targets refugees in detention who cannot return to their home countries because of a risk of persecution or serious harm.

Advocates and experts are very concerned about the government’s power to detain refugees for ages, if not, decades, and they say the community has the power to tell the government to process refugees within the community.

Produced By: Eduardo Jordan

Featured In Story: Scott Cosgriff – Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre

First aired on The Wire, Friday, 14 May 2021