Immunity for ‘whistleblowers’

CANBERRA – The Australia Federal Government’s controversial Border Force Act has been undermined by the extension of a Senate investigation into offshore detention facilities.

Greens and Labor senators voted to continue the committee that looked into the Nauru detention facility which found conditions were “not adequate, appropriate or safe”.

Greens immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said whistleblowers who came forward would now be protected by parliamentary privilege and be immune from criminal prosecution.

“The Border Force Act currently says that staff are liable for two years’ jail if they speak openly, even if they see things that are wrong,” Senator Hanson-Young said.

“This gets around that law– if they tell the Senate Committee, if they tell this inquiry, they will be covered by parliamentary privilege.

“What it does is allow for the Senate to continue to monitor what is going on there and ensure that anyone who has information that is important and is in the public interest, and they believe the parliament and the people should know, can use this process.”

The committee will allow submissions about the Australian-funded centres on Manus Island and Nauru until the current parliament ends.

Committee chairman and South Australian Labor senator Alex Gallacher said the report showed serious problems on Nauru and that additional scrutiny of both offshore centres was needed.

“There clearly needs to be an avenue whereby people can express deeply felt, widely held concerns and it should be under Parliamentary privilege,” Senator Gallacher said.

“We cannot have a situation where people’s voice of concern is not heard.”