The Wire

The Cornelia Rau case was a chilling reminder of the conditions facing detainees in Australia’s detention centres. Whether mentally ill or not before experiencing enforced detention, many suffer extreme mental trauma after only a few months in places such as Baxter. Following the public outcry over Cornelia Rau’s ordeal, a government inquiry was launched. This inquiry is now being expanded, since news of other similar examples of wrongful detention have emerged. In one case, the Government admitted that it deported an Australian woman four years ago, and that she is still missing overseas. However, because the results won’t be made public, Australians may never find out what the inquiry uncovers. Senator Andrew Bartlett, Immigration spokesperson for the Australian Democrats, spoke to The Wire’s Anja Kueppers and told her why it’s vital for all information resulting from the current investigation to be publicised. He believes mistakes inevitable if laws give the Department absolute power to jail people indefinitely.