Budget spending on detention shows government has lost its way

The revised Budget Estimates just released by the Gillard Government show that the Government continues its wasteful spending on it’s failed policy of mandatory detention.

The amount of tax payers money committed to expanding Australia’s detention centres and the inhumane Christmas Island is staggering. The money to be spent next year on Christmas Island alone would fund the ASRC for 222 years to assist asylum seekers in a humane manner in the community.

In the 2010–11 Budget, the Government has stated that it ‘will invest $1.2 billion to bolster Australia’s border security’ to ‘build on the $654 million border protection and anti-people smuggling package in the 2009 Budget’.[3] This funding is spread across several portfolios—primarily Attorney General’s and Immigration and Citizenship.

The 2010–11 Budget has allocated $202 million over five years to increase capacity, maintain and upgrade service delivery and upgrade infrastructure in both onshore and offshore immigration detention facilities including capital funding for several immigration detention facilities as outlined in Budget Paper No. 2

Budget estimates for community and detention services on Christmas Island; management and care of irregular immigrants in Indonesia; and regional cooperation and capacity building are provided under Program 4.3: Offshore Asylum Seeker Management. As predicted, in the 2010–11 Budget total expenses for Program 4.3: Offshore Asylum Seeker Management have been revised to a figure of 471.2 million dollars.

These are merely their estimates and are destined to blowout as they did by hundreds of millions of dollars in last years budget estimates.

What is most troubling is this spending on detention and border protection fails to acknowledge the failure of the policy of mandatory detention.

It fails to recognize that this policy will not stop the boats because people are fleeing for their lives not for economic reasons and with choices.

The policy of detaining people in detention centres also costs 7 times what it would cost to care for people seeking asylum in the community.

On the one hand the government claims it is moving to release some children and families in the community and yet at the same time it’s spending would suggest the opposite.

There is an even greater cost, one you will find in now budget estimates. This is the human cost of detention.

The increase four – fold of self – harming in detention is a clear line figure missing.

The widespread trauma, depression and anxiety caused to the some 5000 people in detention now will be paid by the people themselves and our community when they are released from detention eventually.

It is such an opportunity lost. What is the lesson we are teaching refugees about Australia and how we treat the most vulnerable?

SOURCE:
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/RP/BudgetReview2010-11/BorderProtection.htm