Offshore detention inquiry report must be a turning point

The St Vincent de Paul Society National Council of Australia says the Senate inquiry’s final report into offshore processing and resettlement arrangements makes useful findings on transparency and oversight but falls well short of grappling with the scale of human suffering caused by Australia’s offshore detention regime.  

National President Mark Gaetani said it was welcome that the committee’s main report referred to the Society’s submission on the need for stronger transparency and oversight, and that it recommended greater accountability in offshore arrangements. While those steps matter, they do not answer the central moral and policy failure at the heart of this system.  

“The main report does not properly confront the grave human rights abuses and the appalling conditions endured by vulnerable people subjected to this regime. That evidence was raised across the overwhelming majority of submissions to the inquiry and cannot be treated as secondary,” he said. 

In its submission to the inquiry, the St Vincent de Paul Society said Australia’s offshore processing regime and related third-country arrangements continue to cause serious harm to people seeking protection, and noted that people remain in Port Moresby, on Nauru and in Australia without secure long-term outcomes after more than a decade of policy failure.  

“The fundamental question is not only whether there is enough oversight of this system, but why such a harmful system is still allowed to continue,” Mr Gaetani said.  

The Society said the dissenting report from Senator David Shoebridge more directly addressed the human consequences of offshore detention and the need for a permanent resolution. In particular, the dissenting report recommends ending third-country resettlement arrangements and offshore processing in Nauru and Papua New Guinea, and ensuring refugees subjected to this system have a permanent home. 

“We support the call to end offshore processing and ensure that people who have already endured years of trauma, uncertainty and displacement are given a permanent place to rebuild their lives in safety and dignity,” Mr Gaetani said. 

The Society continues to call for: 

• the establishment of a Royal Commission into immigration detention 
• an end to offshore processing and harmful third-country arrangements 
• durable resettlement pathways for all people still subject to this regime 
• stronger transparency, oversight and public accountability 
• policies that uphold human dignity and Australia’s human rights obligations. 

“Australia can still manage our borders without outsourcing suffering. Transparency and oversight are necessary, but they are not enough if the cruelty of the underlying policy remains untouched,” Mr Gaetani said. 

The St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia consists of more than 40,000 Members and volunteers who operate on the ground through over 1,000 groups located in local communities across the country.

MEDIA CONTACT
0475 068 209 or media@svdp.org.au