Immigration Detention Centre In Brisbane Wayne Swan - Shadow Minister for Family and Community Services , Manager of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives

Doorstop Interview

Transcript - Meeandah Army Barracks - 3 January 2003

E & OE - PROOF ONLY

JOURNALIST: Have the recent fires at the five detention centres heightened your concerns and the community concerns about the plans for this site?

SWAN:They most certainly have. Locals are concerned that events that have occurred at Baxter and at Villawood will occur on this site here. They don't think it's appropriate that a 550 bed, high security detention centre is built in the middle of metropolitan Brisbane. And I think they're right.

JOURNALIST: It might be a high security centre, but these people aren't criminals as such. What's the problem?

SWAN: The problem is what has occurred at Baxter and Villawood. The truth is that these facilities are the equivalent of medium security prison. And it's not appropriate to locate a medium security prison in the middle of the metropolitan area. It's certainly not appropriate to flog off this Defence Department site for thirty pieces of silver. It's a key part of the defence of this country. So the Government is flogging it off and giving a part of the site to a detention centre which is neither wanted nor appropriate to this site.

JOURNALIST: Isn't calling it a medium security prison a bit inflammatory when we are talking about people who are asylum seekers in some cases rather than criminals, without any sort of criminal history?

SWAN:The people that are causing the disturbances at Baxter and Villawood are people who have been determined to be illegal immigrants.

JOURNALIST: How advanced is the Government's plans to go through with this centre?

SWAN:Well the Government's plans are quite advanced. They have announced plans to flog this site for 30 pieces of silver. They have announced plans to reserve a third of this site for a medium to high security detention centre…….… Minister Ruddock has refused to consult with the local community and he has continued to plan for this facility. The plans have been drawn up. He promised to consult with the local community but he has continued the planning, despite the fact that the locals are opposed to the location.

JOURNALIST: Would Labor build a centre?

SWAN:We've made it very clear that building a large medium security prison in a large metropolitan area is completely inappropriate.

JOURNALIST: But you would go ahead and build another detention centre somewhere in this area?

SWAN:Well of course there's always a need for the detention of people who are determined to be illegal immigrants and therefore we do need processing facilities. The problem with this facility is very simple. Its location is completely inappropriate. First of all we're selling a very important Defence Department site, important to the defence of the country. And secondly we're locating a medium security detention facility on a block of land where it is completely inappropriate. On both grounds we are completely opposed.

JOURNALIST: What is your position at the moment in having a detention centre in the middle of Pinkenba?

SWAN: I am totally opposed to locating a detention centre right in the middle of the Brisbane metropolitan area. Its just madness.

JOURNALIST: What has the community response been so far?

SWAN:Well the community is completely opposed to locating a centre in the middle of a built up area such as this. Close to suburbs such as Clayfield, Hamilton, Ascot and so on. They are completely opposed to Minister Ruddock's proposition to put the detention centre right here.

JOURNALIST: How have the recent events at other detention centres affected opinion about this centre?

SWAN:This detention centre would hold the type of people that are being located in the Baxter Centre as well as the Villawood Centre in Sydney. This would be a 550 bed medium to high security detention centre.

JOURNALIST: What do you see as the problem of having a detention centre here in Pinkenba?

SWAN:All of the problems we have seen at Baxter and Villawood. That is why it is not logical to locate such a centre right in the middle of the metropolitan area. It is completely illogical. And it is even worse to sell this site. This is a working Army Base. It is essential to the defence logistics of Queensland and the nation. The Government is going to flog it off for 30 pieces of silver and reserve a third of the site for a detention centre. This site should not be privatised.

JOURNALIST: What would your proposal be as an alternative?

SWAN:There are plenty of Shires in south east Queensland who have expressed a willingness to have a detention centre in their community and that is where this centre should go.

JOURNALIST: What sort of areas are interested?

SWAN:A number of the Shires like Kilkivan Shire and other Shires throughout Queensland, and some located close to Brisbane, have indicated a desire for a centre.

JOURNALIST: Would it really be that bad to have a detention centre here, if it was managed properly?

SWAN: The management of detention centres right around this country has been a mess under the Howard Government because they privatised the management of the detention centres. It is absolutely essential that detention centres are in public hands and run by the Government not by privatised organisations.

JOURNALIST: What's the reality of the detention centre actually coming to Pinkenba? Is it close to happening at the moment?

SWAN: Minister Ruddock has refused to take on board the views of the local community and has insisted that the centre be located here. He has broken his promise that he would not locate it on this site if the public didn't want it. The public don't want it, he has broken that promise and therefore there is a high likelihood that the detention centre will be located on this site.

JOURNALIST: And when will that happen?

SWAN:Well that's up to Minister Ruddock. He hasn't said when as yet.

JOURNALIST: So what are your plans for now?

SWAN:I will continue to talk to our local community about how we can send a message to Minister Ruddock and the Howard Government that a medium security detention centre in the middle of metropolitan area is inappropriate. We will keep up the pressure on Mr Howard and Mr Ruddock.

Thank you.