SAINT Vincent de Paul National President Claire Victory has asked the Albanese Government to “review all cases of immigration detention” and “release all but those detained on national security grounds”.
“The St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia continues to oppose arbitrary and indefinite immigration detention,” said Ms Victory.
“We urge the government to improve the conditions of those still detained, including by ensuring more timely responses to health concerns and better access to quality medical services.”
In 2013, the Federal Government declared people seeking asylum by sea would not be permitted to settle in Australia.
Since then, over 3,000 people have been processed offshore and sent to Nauru or Papua New Guinea.
In a July 22 statement, the St Vincent de Paul Society called for the “safe and permanent resettlement” for the more than 500 people living in Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
The statement also described the current asylum seeker policy as “cruel, costly and ineffective” and highlighted the impact of COVID on living conditions.
“In Nauru the recent COVID outbreak has exposed serious flaws in the health and welfare services for the people still there,” the statement said.
The statement came in the wake of Kurdish musician and refugee, Mostafa Azimitabar’s case against the Australian Government.
Mr Azimitabar challenged the legality of the Federal Government’s use of hotels as Alternate Places of Detention in a two-day hearing in Victoria last week.
After fleeing persecution in Iran, he was detained on Manus Island for six years and spent a further 15 months in the Mantra Hotel in Preston and the Park Hotel in Carlton.
He was released on a bridging visa last year.
