[Greens-Media] Government must send mental health team to Christmas Island

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

MEDIA RELEASE

Thursday, 24 July 2014

Government must send mental health crisis team to Christmas Island

The Australian Greens have called on the Abbott Government to immediately send a team of mental health experts to Christmas Island to deal with the current crisis in the centre.

"Christmas Island is at crisis point," the Greens' immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

"The children are suffering terribly and they need specialised mental health support now.

"A lack of female staff on the island has seen mothers put on 24-hour suicide watch under the supervision of male prison guards. This situation is unacceptable and must be rectified immediately

"With conditions this bad on Christmas Island, it's clear that the Nauru detention centre needs to be opened up to independent investigators. The Australian Government pays for, runs and controls the Nauru centre but they have banned the Australian Human Rights Commission from setting foot inside.

"Until these women and children can be brought to Australia, the Abbott Government should be doing everything they can to reduce the damage that's being done.

"Today I visited children in the Inverbrackie detention centre. They said Christmas Island was Hell and they begged not to be sent back there.

"As a nation, we can and must do better than this."


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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