BY RUTH RATCLIFFE
DARWIN — Late last year a "temporary processing centre" for asylum seekers was constructed on the Coonawarra Naval Base, located in outer Darwin.
Despite costing $3 million to build, it remains empty as the federal Coalition government pursues the "Pacific solution" — refusing to let asylum seekers land in Australia.
A spokesperson for the immigration department told Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly that "if and when more boat people arrive in northern Australia they will be processed at Coonawarra". The centre is designed to hold up to 650 people for a 24-hour period, before they are transferred to a permanent facility. It has no kitchens.
The high fences, topped with rolls of barbed wire, which surround the temporary processing centre are clearly visible from the busy Stuart Highway. Its presence has caused a stir among local refugee-rights supporters and politicians.
In a December ABC radio interview, Country Liberal Party Senator Nigel Scullion appealed for trees to be planted to screen the centre, arguing, "it's not good to have these people within sight of Territorians".
Beryl Mulder, president of the NT Multicultural Council, has dubbed the centre "Gulag Coonawarra". She told GLW: "High fences, rolls of barbed wire, this is no accommodation for human beings who have not been convicted of any crime. What happened to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty?"
While visiting Darwin, immigration minister Philip Ruddock confirmed that there were also plans to build a permanent detention facility in Darwin. He said this would provide "humane" detention and would be "more secure" than the Woomera detention centre.
Resistance and the Socialist Alliance are calling for the centre to be closed, along with all detention centres. "While local media has tried to restrict debate to the question of whether people should be held in detention near residential areas, more and more people are starting to say that people seeking asylum shouldn't be detained at all", Darwin Resistance organiser Chris Atkinson told GLW.
[Ruth Ratcliffe is the Socialist Alliance candidate for Lord Mayor of Darwin].
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, February 6, 2002.
Visit the