Dear Shadow Minister,

You wrote;

“As for whitewashing I'm sure that you are referring to the period from 30/7/2012 to 30/9/2013 when hundreds were dying at sea 30 000 were in detention incl 5000 children and Labor set up the Manus Island and Nauru detention centres, and Triggs was as quiet as a church mouse.”

What a load of nonsense. Just go to the AHRC web site to see how active the commission and Triggs were during this period.

These are her own words in 2013;

“The United Nations Human Rights Committee’s most recent finding against Australia related to the indefinite detention of refugees with adverse security assessments. The Committee not only found that these refugees’ indefinite detention was arbitrary, it also found that it was ‘inflicting serious psychological harm upon them’, which amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”

“As at 5 September 2013, there were 6,579 people in closed immigration detention facilities in Australia, including 1,428 children. As at 6 August 2013 there were 52 refugees being held in indefinite detention as a result of receiving an adverse security assessment. The detrimental mental health impact of prolonged and indefinite detention is well-documented. In 2012–13 there were 846 reported incidents of self-harm across Australia’s immigration detention network.”
“As at 5 September 2013 there were 1,254 asylum seekers detained on Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.”
“In June 2013 the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, having examined the laws and legislative instruments underpinning the regional processing regime, concluded that there was a significant risk that the regime was incompatible with a range of human rights. The Commission concurs with this assessment.”
http://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/asylum-seekers-and-refugees/publications/asylum-seekers-refugees-and-human-rights-snapshot

Cont...

cont...

These are parts of a speech she gave in 2012;

“First, I am concerned that the transfer of asylum seekers to a third country for processing of their claims for refugee status appears to penalise asylum seekers on account of their unlawful arrival in Australia, in contravention of the express terms of the Refugee Convention.”
…
“I am also concerned about the arrangements for refugee status determination in Nauru and on Manus Island”
…
“I have serious concerns that asylum seekers transferred to third countries will be detained arbitrarily and for indefinite periods.”
…
“The potential transfer of children, either in family groups or unaccompanied, to a third country is another matter of serious concern. While the transfer of unaccompanied children seeking asylum to a third country is lawful under Australian law, it is likely to breach Australia’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”
…
“The devastating impact of long-term detention on the physical and mental health of asylum seekers detained in Nauru and Papua New Guinea...”

http://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/speeches/current-issues-australia-faces-relation-its-treatment-refugees-2012

Quiet as a mouse? Yer right.

For balance, how should the sentiments expressed in that quote have been applied by the AHRC and Triggs where the QUT students and Bill Leak were concerned?

Referring of course to the quote from the English author, Neil Gaiman.

Foxy,

You're right, you're defending the indefensible quite vigorously.

SR.

Firstly, the first link was a released in October 2013 after the Coalition was in power

Secondly the second link was of a speech given to a handful of people in WA and was as hard hitting as wet lettuce. The victims of the speech would have come away knowing only that Triggs was concerned.

Neither of you have addressed the real issues I raised such as why Triggs delayed the inquiry that was due early 2013 to 2014, why she lied twice to the senate, and why she treated the QUT students so abysmally?

Dear Shadow Minister,

Not true. All of the issues have already been
addressed in links given in this discussion.
You simply don't make distinctions between
what you find acceptable and what you don't.