John Madigan (Victoria, Democratic Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to amend general business notice of motion No. 1203 standing in my name and the name of Senator Xenophon for today, ordering the production of documents relating to children in detention.

Leave granted.

I, and also on behalf of Senator Xenophon, move the motion as amended:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) the Department of Immigration and Citizenship last published its monthly statistics regarding the number of people, including children, being held in detention in Australia on 31 December 2012,

  (ii) those statistics stated that of the 2 043 children and unaccompanied minors in immigration detention facilities and alternative places of detention 59.8 per cent were held in detention facilities, being immigration residential housing, immigration transit accommodation and alternative places of detention, and

  (iii) in a joint media release and press conference held by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and the Prime Minister on 18 October 2010 they acknowledged that protracted detention can have negative impacts on children's development and mental health, and stated that the majority of children would be moved to community detention by June 2011; and

(b) calls on the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship to:

  (i) explain the department's high December figure of 59.8 per cent of children held in the aforementioned detention facilities,

  (ii) explain the delay in publishing detention figures since 31 December 2012, and

  (iii) lay on the table by noon on Thursday, 21 March 2013 documents from the department detailing the total number of people held in detention facilities and the total number of children and unaccompanied minors held in the aforementioned detention facilities.

Question agreed to.