Timor, detention and passing the buck

Following a week in which yet another of Timor-Leste’s senior political leaders spoke out against the proposed regional assessment centre to be built in his country, a confidential 23-page concept document for the centre was leaked to the press.  The report raises serious questions as to the desirability and sustainability of such a centre.  The document discusses the possibility of purpose building two centres; one capable of holding 1000 people, or another suitable for 2000 individuals.  For both of these proposed centres ‘alternative options’ would be used to double the capacity to 2000 and 4000 respectively when necessary.  Both centres would divide single adult males from family groups and unaccompanied minors by housing them in separate compounds.  As is the current practice in Australian immigration detention responsibility for centre management and on-site health services would be contracted out to third-party service providers.

Ultimately, the leak of this document raises more questions about the Timor-Leste regional assessment centre than it answers.  It also underscores the failings of the Gillard government on this issue.  Each boat that arrives on our shore is undoubtedly a political liability.  Instead of taking the front foot on this issue, the government has done little more than to rebrand Howard’s ‘Pacific solution’ and wheel it out as new policy.  This proposal isn’t about stopping the boats.  It’s about stopping those boats coming to Australia.  That is precisely why the government is seeking to shift its responsibility to process asylum-seekers to Timor-Leste, a country in all respects vastly less well equipped to handle such processing than Australia.

Such a centre would place a significant economic and social burden upon one of the poorest nations in the world.  In a country with a GDP per capita of only $2,600, in which unemployment hovers around 20% and one-third of the population regularly experience food shortages, the presence of a sizeable population of asylum seekers may divert funds away from improving the quality of life for Timorese nationals, fostering jealously and promoting unrest.  We have already seen this occur in our own country, one that is many times more wealthy and stable than Timor-Leste.

However, it is the system of refugee status determination and appeal that may pose the biggest problem.  The document earmarks the UNHCR to assist Timor-Leste in determining people’s claims for refugee status, a proposal the organisation has in no way agreed to.  For those that are unsuccessful in their claims, Timor-Leste would need to establish a review process to handle appeals to decisions handed down at the initial level.  In Australia we have seen people languish in detention for months, even years, the result of a systemic failure where our capacity to process people expediently is apparently stretched beyond its limits.  How is a country with a sitting roster of 17 judges expected to successfully process potentially hundreds of appeals where we have failed?  This could lead to the warehousing of a sizeable population of asylum-seekers, precisely the reason why each of Timor-Leste’s political parties have publicly stated their opposition to such a centre.

The government seems to think its resettlement placement strategy will overcome this inevitable logjam.  The concept document asserts that Timor-Leste should pursue diplomatic efforts to secure additional resettlement places throughout the region.  In the instance that suitable resettlement placements were not forthcoming, recognised refugees would be transferred to ‘small emergency transit centres’ in third countries for up to 6 months while a country for permanent resettlement is sought.  This would allow for a more efficient turnover of refugees through the centre.  But what happens if an opportunity for resettlement is not forthcoming after 6 months has passed?  Will people sit in limbo, waiting for resettlement? Will they be shuttled off to yet another ‘transit centre’?  Or will Australia as the proponent of this centre agree to resettle them?

Yet within this document there is one point that rings true.  We should be seeking greater regional engagement on this issue, pressing nations that currently resettle refugees to accept more and those that do not yet participate in resettlement to commence doing so.  It should not be up to Timor-Leste to spearhead this charge.  While not a world power, Australia has a voice within the region, certainly one that rings louder than Timor’s.  To shift responsibility for the challenges you are tasked with is not a desirable trait.  In the workplace those who shrug their shoulders, exclaim ‘It’s not my problem’ and seek to pass the buck onto someone are rightly derided.  Yet this is what the Gillard government is seeking to do with asylum seekers.  Instead of asking our poor regional neighbours to deal with an issue we are unwilling or unable to, it’s time to step up, accept some responsibility and do it ourselves.