The right to know is what killed princess Diana? If we promulgated just how we are stopping the boat the heartless people smugglers are almost certain to find s way to circumvent our efforts.

All need to know is that those we detain are being lawfully and humanely detained!
Rhrosty.

Some of us no longer care what the government does in our name - especially when it comes to our treatment of refugees, including children. Refugees arriving by boat have been called Illegals these past few decades. The fact is they have a legal right to seek asylum. By calling them illegals many decent Australians falsely believe these refugees have broken our laws and deserve to be locked up indefinitely. This is not true, but if you say a lie often enough it becomes accepted as fact.

The government and the opposition don't want us to know what is being done in our name. Otherwise they wouldn't have rushed through The Border Force Act 2015 which means that from from July 2015, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals face up to two years imprisonment for blowing the whistle on substandard medical care given to asylum seekers in detention centres.

Is it really none of our business what the government does to these people?

I thought democracy was government of the people, by the people, for the people. Politicians are supposed to serve us. They are in parliament as our representatives are they not?

When told of allegations of child sexual abuse in offshore detention camps, in the Moss report, Tony Abbott's response was “Occasionally, I daresay, things happen, because in any institution you get things that occasionally aren’t perfect,” That still shocks me. Doesn't it shock you?

The AFP was not asked to investigate the claims of child sexual abuse, but instead, was asked to investigate Save the Children staff who anonymously wrote a submission to the Australian Human Right's Commission’s inquiry, revealing cases of sexual and physical abuse of children, and acts of self-harm.

I know what "crime" I would rather be investigated, but maybe that's just me.

But why do we need to know what they do over there in the detention centres?
We can safely assume that torture is the norm - but whether or not we know the gory details, is there anything we can change about it?

Hi Yuyustu,

I may be wrong but I think the government and opposition's insistence on secrecy tells us a lot. Would they go to all the effort to criminalise doctors and nurses who act as whistleblowers if they could defend their actions?

That shows that if enough people speak up they think that they would have to change their policies. The majority of people might not have sympathy with refugees, but surely no one accepts that it is ok to ignore evidence that kids are being sexually abused in our offshore detention camps? I think that may be the game-changer.

Dear BJelly,

I think you are too optimistic:

Suppose we do all know that children are abused systematically there.
Suppose we are all angry and upset about it.

Then what?

What you call "our offshore detention camps" are not 'our', never been - it's the government's and governments by their nature do whatever they like: we could quack as much as we like, they care none about us. The most they allow (and even expect) us to do is to attend "elections" and there ceremoniously replace Tweedledum by Tweedledee - but as they are one and the same, they couldn't care less.

Had they really believed that we can ever unseat them, then we too would vanish into these camps, but as they don't even need to bother about us gnats, they rather allow us to stay in our homes and contribute to their economy=taxes.

Hi Yuyustu,

I think they think they would lose votes if enough people saw how we are turning a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children in these camps.

The thing they are afraid of is losing power, that is why the Coalition and ALP hiss and howl about the rise of minor parties and Independents. If word got out it would be a vote loser, and they are both stuffed.

So both are rushing to ensure any evidence of child abuse is kept well and truly under wraps.

I make no mistake about their motives, if they cared about what is happening to these kids they would have got them out of these camps by now.