Nutty Leftist policy proposal: Motels as jails

How nutty can you get? Just feign mental illness and you are free!

Suspected illegal immigrants will be held in a motel room instead of a detention centre if they exhibit signs of mental illness, under a Labor policy announced yesterday. The softer approach is designed to prevent another Australian being held in an immigration detention centre. People investigated by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs would be kept out of detention centres if their identity could not be officially verified, if they were found in the community and if they were distressed, disoriented or exhibiting bizarre behaviour.

The announcement follows up scandals surrounding more than 220 Australians held in detention centres, including the high-profile cases of Vivian Solon, Cornelia Rau and last week's revelation of the case of Mr T. Mr T, a mentally ill Vietnamese migrant, was detained three times in four years after he was unable to properly identify himself. Each time the mistake was discovered, he was removed from the detention centre and returned to homelessness. Under Labor's policy, individuals who are incoherent or unable to identify themselves would be referred to a mental health crisis team, which could assess them. If found to have mental health issues, they would receive proper treatment and their case assessed again by immigration officials. Otherwise, they would be processed normally and put in detention.

But Opposition immigration spokesman Tony Burke stopped short of promising no Australian would ever again be wrongfully detained under a Labor government. "After the string of tragic wrongful detentions, it is incredible the Government has no such safeguard already in place," he said in a joint policy statement with Opposition Leader Kim Beazley. "There must never be another Cornelia Rau, Vivian Solon or Mr T case in Australia again."

The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs has launched improved training for its staff to help identify people with mental illness. There is also a new protocol that senior management would be consulted before a mentally ill person was put into a detention centre. A DIMA spokeswoman said last night there were extensive mental health services available for people within detention centres.

Meanwhile, Vivian Solon yesterday attended an arbitration hearing before former High Court judge Sir Anthony Mason to determine what level of compensation she would be awarded for having been wrongfully deported in 2001 after she became disoriented after a car accident. She was deported to the Phillippines in 2001 after she became disoriented after a car accident and was detained by immigration officials. The five-day arbitration hearing comes after her legal team and the Federal Government was unable to come to an agreement over a compensation package for wheelchair-bound Ms Alvarez's ongoing care. Her lawyer, Marcus Einfeld, said yesterday he was seeking a "very substantial sum".

Source

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