Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I note that the remark of the senator interjecting could in fact be made to him about his earlier interjections in relation to this matter. The starting point here is that a young boy has lost his life, in Australia, within a few days of his family believing that they were coming here to every possible door opening to them. By anybody’s standards, that has to be judged to be a tragedy. I have said so before, but I again extend my sincere condolences to the family and to the Burundian community.

There have been comments by one person in particular in relation to this matter on the level of assistance provided to the family on arrival in Australia. I do not believe those comments to be well informed. I do note that on 17 January the New South Wales Coroner decided to not hold an inquest into Richard’s death. I think that tells us something. The coroner had the opportunity, if it was deemed appropriate—if there was something he could find out that would be relevant to the death—to have a coronial inquiry and he decided not to do so. I am not going to say any more about this particular case at this time. I would be happy to offer the senator a private briefing on it. I would point out, however, that the caseworker assigned to that family was also of Burundian background. There has been some suggestion that there was a communication breakdown. I would just make the point that that is my advice: it was a Burundian caseworker. The settlement assistance provided to humanitarian entrants is, by any comparison internationally, exemplary. I do have someone in my department, following the coroner’s decision not to hold a coronial inquiry, who will give me a full report on what happened.