Another nail in the 'compassionate society's' coffin

Green MP Keith Locke is calling for a review of immigration procedures in the wake of the forcible expulsion of a young Sri Lankan woman from Auckland last night.

"The disgraceful expulsion of the young women does not end the matter," said Keith Locke, the Green Party's Human Rights spokesperson. "We must let the government know that out-of-sight is not out-of-mind.

"People are ashamed that the Government's actions are seriously eroding our reputation as a caring, compassionate society. What has happened to our humanity?

"It is simply unacceptable in civilized society to drag a highly distressed young woman onto a plane and send her back to a situation in which she may well face more sexual abuse.

"This case is clearly contrary to the spirit of Convention on the Rights of the Child whereby governments are supposed to do their best to protect vulnerable children.

"Everyone knows how difficult it is to protect women from sexual abuse in New Zealand," said Mr Locke. "Despite his protestations, there is no way the Minister, Damien O'Connor, can guarantee she is now going to get 'good care and protection' in Sri Lanka, and it will be impossible to adequately monitor that from New Zealand.

"Why couldn't we have simply given the girl a home here?"

© Scoop Media