[Greens-Media] Children denied liberty on secret prison ship

[Schultz-Byard, Noah (Sen S. Hanson-Young)]

MEDIA RELEASE

Thursday, 17 July 2014

Children denied liberty on secret prison ship

The revelation that Sri Lankan children and families are being held in disturbing conditions on board an Australian Customs vessel shows how out of control the Abbott Government's obsession with cruelty has become, the Australian Greens have said.

"Tony Abbott has reached a new low, playing a dangerous game of Battelships on the high seas, and it's vulnerable children who are suffering" the Greens' immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

"It's outrageous that the Abbott Government is holding children behind locked doors on a secret prison ship in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

"These families have no communication with the outside world, no freedom of movement, no privacy and no access to proper legal advice.

"Our country's international reputation is being dragged through the mud by this spectacle. Australia is better than this, but the Liberal Party's obsession with the cheap politics of fear is having disastrous consequences.

"We should be working with the UN to address the refugee crisis in our region. We could be leading a genuine solution that cares for people in need while saving lives at sea but instead we are watching this spectacle unfold on the high seas."


Media Contact: Noah Schultz-Byard 0427 604 760


NOAH SCHULTZ-BYARD  STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER

OFFICE OF SENATOR SARAH HANSON-YOUNG
AUSTRALIAN GREENS SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA
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