Refugees increasingly 'less than second class citizens'

Transcript

A refugee advocate says new laws being brought in by the Australian and Nauru governments show they view refugees and asylum seekers as being less than second class citizens.

Ian Rintoul of the Refugee Action Coalition says in Nauru, a new law directed at refugees requires protestors to give seven days notice before demonstrating or face $3000 fines or two years in jail.

And in Australia, the federal government is seeking new powers that would make it largely immune from liability for use of force in immigration detention centres.

Mr Rintoul spoke to Mary Baines.

IAN RINTOUL: Well it's quite extraordinary whether it gives total power of whether there can be or can't be a protest to the Police Commissioner and there is no prospect of appeal. It also prescribes various areas that are not allowed to have protests at all, on top of that it also says there is a fine above $3000 and two years jail and there doesn't seem to be anything in between for people who are found guilty of breaching this particular law. So effectively it's outlawed any kind of protest on Nauru of three or more people and gives extraordinary power into the hands of the Police Commissioner.

MARY BAINES: So did this law come in quite suddenly?

IR: There is no doubt that it actually now is a law and it came into force on the 23rd of March I believe. There has been a process leading up to it but it is a very quick one. Really the, we have seen since the demonstrations on the fourth of March where they arrested 100, 189 people they have been increasing decrees about where you can protest and where you can't. Increasing powers of the police to act. So it is quite clear that Nauru government is moving more and more towards a police state really. To give those extraordinary powers to the police to try and stamp out any kind of protest. And while this is directed at refugees there is no doubt that it can be used against anyone on Nauru. Including Nauruans who want to protest against their own government for any number of reasons actually.

MB: Do you think refugees will continue to protest regardless of the new law?

IR: Well to their credit they have already had a protest, they had a protest on Good Friday they had a protest you know last Monday. So they have already defied the law it definitely doesn't mean anything to them. They have got no other option, they are on Nauru anyway, imprisoned on an island, the idea that either the 3000 dollars either that or the jail penalty you know means a lot to people who have now got a life in limbo. I don't think there is any doubt that there will be more protests.

MB: I understand that the Australian government is seeking immunity over the use of force in immigration detention. What do you think of this move?

IR: It's again, it's a whether Nauru has taken a leaf out of Australia's book or you know vice versa. But we see increasingly the use of increased powers to the police, in this case increased powers for the  guards and more giving them the powers to act with complete impunity. This law about the Australian detention centres doesn't quite give them complete impunity. But it does mean they are now given the powers to use almost any level of force that they deem to be reasonable in circumstances inside a detention centre now these are people who have committed no crime. I mean in our opinion they should not be inside the detention centre anyway.