Australia: Statesmanship sinks in 'people smugglers' debacle

The absence of statesmanship and political good judgement was highlighted this week with the significant announcement by the federal Attorney-General concerning under-age ‘people smugglers’.

The Australian Government has announced that as part of a review into the incarceration of Indonesian children in adult jails in Australia, three minors will now be sent home.

One of the three children is Yasmin Ali, a (now) 16 year old boy who has been held In Western Australia's Albany maximum security prison and Perth's Hakea Prison for over two years.

Yasmin was 13 years of age when first arrested for so-called 'people smuggling' in 2009. At the time Yasmin's only crime was to accept a job as a deckhand on a wooden boat that was carrying some 'people' to Christmas Island from his remote village in Eastern Indonesia.

This boy has spent over two years sharing meals each night with hardened adult criminals in two of our country's major prisons. He should have been home in his Indonesian village with his mother and sisters; not in an Australian jail.

Last week the Federal Attorney-General finally acted and ordered that three boys, including Yasmin, be sent home immediately.

The Australian Government were so anxious to get Yasmin out-of-sight, he was 'bundled-up' and placed on a Garuda flight to Indonesia at 2pm the next day.

Our government has been literally 'battered' into taking action with regards to this boy and others like him. I have no doubt that without the support of the media, and pressure from Indonesian government officials in Australia, these boys would still be facing extended terms of imprisonment here in Australia today.

How is it that Australia is now seen as a country that dumps innocent young children from a poor country in our adult jails? Let's face it. We are a generous and decent country and our government would not intentionally plan to jail disadvantaged Indonesian children in adult prisons; so why has this sordid and sorry tale come to this?

Let's go back to early 2010 when I, on behalf of the Indonesia Institute and my colleague Colin Singer, raised this matter publicly through the media after becoming frustrated that no one within Government would listen to us. The article titled "Indonesian children (who are) sleeping in a jail near you", appeared in several newspapers.

The media then started to ask questions as to why these children were getting caught-up in this terrible trade run by thugs who mastermind the asylum seeker business from their hideouts in Jakarta.

Questions about children being jailed here in Australia were then asked by Indonesia, so it was the 'perfect' time for our Prime Minister to simply say...

"Look, this whole people smuggling business is very complicated and nasty. Australia wants to be tough on those who smuggle people into Australia but we don't want Indonesian kids to get caught-up in the net. Therefore, as Prime Minister, I will call for an immediate investigation as to whether we are holding Indonesian minors in adult jails and if this is the case they will be sent home".

That would have been a very 'statesman-like' position and would have been honest and truthful. Very hard to criticize a comment like that.

But no; our PM once again showed a complete lack of judgment and decided to take a hard-nosed and defiant stance...
"It's not happening. There are no Indonesian children in adult jails in Australia. They are all adults (and as Kevin Rudd said, 'they are the scum of the earth’)”.

From that moment on, the various Australian government departments, agencies and officials ducked, dived, denied, and tried to avoid this issue-despite the mounting pressure from NGO's, human rights agencies and the media.

Despite this, Ms Gillard would not accept the truth. Even when asked about the Indonesian Government having actually given the Department of Immigration and the Government-appointed Legal Aid lawyer authenticated copies of birth certificates from Yasmin Ali (that were never presented to the judge) showing he was only 13 when first arrested, our PM just dismissed the questions.

"He is not a minor", she said. "And if he thinks he is, he can just appeal to the High Court".

Oh really? An Indonesian kid who doesn't even speak English going to the High Court?

Last week, almost 18 months later, with world outrage about the treatment of these children mounting, and a Human Rights Commission hearing being called, only then did the Gillard Government change their minds. Maybe there just might be some Indo kids in our adult prison?

Try 24-30 kids perhaps?

And then within a week there is an 'Inquiry' by the Federal Attorney-General and within another three days the first of these children are to be sent home with Yasmin Ali already on his way home.

All this mess; all this denial; all the condemnation from all over the world. For what?

It could have been dealt with properly, courteously and with honesty, 18 months ago.

It is little wonder that this Gillard Government in Australia is in so much trouble.

Ross B. Taylor is the chairman of the Indonesia Institute (Inc) based in WA.

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