High Court Asked to Limit Detention of Asylum Seekers in Australia for Care
Dan Nicholson, who oversees the migration program for Victoria Legal Aid, which filed the case, said a ruling could help clarify whether the Constitution allowed the Australian government to detain asylum seekers brought to Australia from the Pacific Island countries of Nauru
and Papua New Guinea, and to define how long that detention could last.
By SARAH MALIKMARCH 7, 2017
SYDNEY, Australia — Legal aid lawyers have filed a constitutional challenge to Australia’s restrictive migration law
and the legality of detaining asylum seekers transferred to the country from offshore camps for medical treatment or other temporary purposes.
If the challenge to detention is successful, it would be mean those brought here for medical treatment from offshore processing centers — where
Australia has been confining hundreds of asylum seekers intercepted at sea since 2012 — could not be incarcerated while being treated.
Australia, he said, is "highly unlikely to close down offshore detention because it insists
that existing health care is adequate, despite the overwhelming evidence that protracted detention undermines refugee health." Mr. Saul added that even if the Victoria Legal Aid case succeeded, its impact might not last long in the current political environment.
But Mr. Nicholson said some asylum seekers flown into Australia for medical treatment from offshore camps have languished for years in detention.
Australian said that It does real harm to people’s health.