My community’s campaign to oppose this detention centre will focus on the theme of ‘Links not locks’ and is best illustrated by the comments made by Mr John Rutherford, Secretary of the Broadmeadows Progress Association. He made a very valid point at Sunday’s meeting:
History graphically illustrates that detention centres, whether they are called concentration camps, strategic hamlets, Indian reservations or aboriginal reserves, do not solve problems, but create new ones.
I want to join with my community and bring to the government’s attention that in my electorate we have many problems and issues without having to add more unnecessarily. We believe that the $120 million that is earmarked to be spent on building this facility would be better spent on addressing the many social, economic and infrastructure problems that affect the daily lives of people in Calwell.
We are therefore appalled by the lack of consultation from this government. The decision to nominate Maygar Barracks as a preferred site was taken without consultation with the local community. Whilst the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs has now offered to work with council to consult the community, this process focuses on the nature of the facility rather than whether this is an appropriate site. In light of this, Hume City Council commissioned a research report to assess community opinion of the detention centre proposal. It is a shame DIMIA did not undertake a similar activity, as the results were extremely enlightening. Some 69 per cent of those surveyed oppose the proposal to build the Broadmeadows facility and 80 per cent are opposed to the federal government spending $120 million to build a new detention centre altogether.
My community believes that there are far better uses for the land at Maygar Barracks, uses that would generate much needed employment and yield greater social benefits. This site on Camp Road is close to Melbourne airport, the Hume Highway, the Calder Highway and the P&O operated inland rail/road freight interchange facility. An independent analysis of the site has highlighted the economic benefits of the site, which can generate substantially more employment than that generated by a detention centre facility. The economic research also showed that the site is on a prime business and industrial site, which is linked by road, rail and air networks. It showed that a detention centre was not a good use of the land and it would generate only around 150 jobs—far fewer than the 3,900 direct and indirect jobs that could be generated if the land were used for more strategic purposes and far, far fewer than the 8,000 direct and indirect jobs generated nationally if the land were used to develop a high-tech industry base.
My community is also concerned about the nature of detention policy and its human ramifications. At a time when the government is conceding that not all asylum seekers need to be detained, and with women and children being relocated into the community, it is unnecessary and inappropriate to allocate $120 million of taxpayers’ money to an additional 200-bed detention facility. This is a huge amount of money that could be far better spent for the benefit of the community. In my electorate—and in many, many others—there are critical issues that should be addressed with a higher priority than another detention centre. The government should be spending this money on increasing bulk-billing, providing more aged care beds, addressing the apprenticeships shortfall, funding more child-care places or reinstating as a matter of urgency—certainly to the people in my electorate—the Commonwealth dental health scheme.
The Broadmeadows community vigorously opposes this proposed detention centre. It is inconsistent with the hopes and aspirations of our culturally diverse community, which is working hard to transform itself and its image. Broadmeadows is on the road to significant social redevelopment. We want government spending to aid that development, not stymie it. To that end, I have cosigned a joint letter with the Hume City Council to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, Senator Amanda Vanstone, requesting a meeting with me and a delegation from Hume City Council to discuss this issue and to present the minister with a banner, signed by local residents, opposing this proposed detention facility. I do hope that the minister, Senator Vanstone, will accommodate this meeting and give my community the opportunity to raise with her concerns that are very legitimate.
