A Home Affairs Officer Has Resigned Over The “Tragic, Meaningless” Policy Of Offshore Detention

A Home Affairs officer quit the department last week over concerns about Australia’s border protection policies. Now, he has circulated a paper to members of Parliament, calling the practice of offshore detention “tragic” and “meaningless”, arguing there is no rational reason for it to continue.

In the paper, Shaun Hanns said he worked for the department for five and a half years as a “protection obligations decision-maker”. His job involved interviewing asylum seekers, and deciding whether they were entitled to refugee status.

Initially, he supported Australia’s harsh border laws. Now he believes the practice of turning back boats is enough to deter people smugglers, and that offshore detention is therefore unnecessary.

Hanns wrote that the current system “relies entirely on boat turnbacks. This makes the continuing detention of those on Manus and Nauru not just tragic, but meaningless”.

“I have struggled for some time with what to do about this belief. The events of the past few months led me, like many others, to genuinely fear we will see a child dying on Nauru and this has spurred me into action.”

“Further deaths, of either children or adults, on the islands is completely unnecessary and preventable. Further deaths are also likely,” he added.

His arguments contradict those of the Home Affairs Department, which has long claimed that offshore detention is crucial to fighting people smuggling and preventing deaths at sea.

“[The policies of offshore detention] appear to be based on a belief that removing those currently on the islands will somehow lead to the kind of numbers only previously seen under an open system policy – the fear being that such numbers will be sufficient to overwhelm the turnback regime,” Hanns wrote. “I cannot see any rational basis for this belief. In five years working in the refugee section of the department, I have never come across any evidence that supports it.”

“All of the evidence I have found appears to directly contradict this belief.”

“Public support for these measures is entirely contingent on the belief that they are necessary to restore and maintain order on Australia’s borders,” he continued. “This is a dangerous thing as people will accept actions they would not otherwise if they truly believe they are necessary.”

Hanns’ paper arrives amidst growing public unrest over Australia’s border policies. Earlier this month, nearly 6000 doctors signed an open letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison calling on him to evacuate children and their families from Nauru amidst a growing health crisis on the island. 11 children have since been brought to the Australian mainland, but more than 50 still remain.

Both Morrison and Labor leader Bill Shorten have faced calls from within their respective parties, as well as from the crossbench, to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

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h/t The Conversation