By Michelle Grattan and Brendan Nicholson
May 26, 2005
The Age

As more cases of possible wrongful detention come to light, the Immigration Minister admits the need for cultural change.

Embattled Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone has declared her department must change to a "user-friendly" culture, and announced new measures aimed at avoiding the errors of the Cornelia Rau and Vivian Alvarez Solon cases.

As the Government came under fire from all sides over its detention policy, Senator Vanstone revealed that another 85 cases of possible wrongful detention had been referred to the Palmer inquiry into the affair, taking the total to 201.

There was also speculation last night that the Government is preparing to launch a wider, judicial inquiry into wrongful detention cases after the existing inquiry head, Mick Palmer, reports on the Rau case next month.

Earlier, Immigration Department Secretary Bill Farmer expressed "profound regret" for the mistakes in the Rau and Alvarez Solon cases.Mr Farmer made the comment as he and Senator Vanstone faced a grilling by a Senate Committee on detention policy.

Senator Vanstone's committee appearance led to an embarrassment in Parliament later when Prime Minister John Howard directly contradicted part of her evidence.

Mr Howard said that Michael Andrew Tran, born in Perth on Monday to an asylum seeker family from Christmas Island, would live in community accommodation on the mainland. The minister had indicated to the committee the family would be sent back to Christmas Island.

In her opening statement to the Senate committee, Senator Vanstone praised the department's handling of the boat people policy. "Nonetheless, the Government now wants the department . . . to be a can-do department in terms of changing its own culture to be one that is user-friendly and has an open culture of continuous improvement," she said.

We profoundly regret what has happened in some cases." Bill Farmer, Immigration Secretary

In his statement to the committee about the department's mistakes, Mr Farmer said: "We profoundly regret what has happened in some cases. It is distressing, and unacceptable, that our actions have in some respects fallen so short of what we would want, and the Australian people expect. We are deeply sorry about that."

Despite their admissions that change was needed, Senator Vanstone and Mr Farmer frustrated committee members by stonewalling on questions. Labor's Senate leader, Chris Evans, told Senator Vanstone: "I think your administration of your department is a disgrace."

Senator Vanstone said changes to policy, processes and legislation would be of little benefit without cultural change. "I envisage this cultural change will include customer focus, timeliness, openness to complaints and appropriate mechanisms to identify problem areas."

The new safeguards against detention errors include a unit to advise on and verify identity, including managing an "early warning" system to identify hard cases, and the appointment of immigration detention review managers in each state and territory.

Psychiatric services for detainees will be increased. A psychiatrist will visit Baxter detention centre in South Australia every fortnight (compared with six weeks at present) and two new psychiatric nurses will be appointed to give Baxter coverage seven days a week.

Access to care outside detention centres will be improved.

Senator Vanstone last night hinted the Government may launch a judicial inquiry into detention errors, after the ABC's Lateline report that Mick Palmer had recommended a broader, more transparent inquiry, with extra resources and the judicial powers to compel witnesses.

Lateline claimed Mr Palmer would step down after completing the Rau investigation. He had said what would now be a caseload of more than 200 should be investigated by the Ombudsman or a similar legal authority.

Senator Vanstone confirmed she had held a number of discussions with Mr Palmer but refused to say what he was recommending. Senator Vanstone said she was "happy to wait and seek his advice". She expected this before the end of June.

Asked whether she would support a judicial inquiry if Mr Palmer recommended it, she said: "I certainly wouldn't rule it out."

In other developments yesterday, rebel Liberal MPs campaigned for their proposed private member's bills to free long-term detainees, while Mr Howard reaffirmed the mandatory detention policy. But the Prime Minister said the search for opportunities to administer it in a more flexible and compassionate way was "not something that is regarded as having been completed".

· The Immigration Department last night revealed that Vivian Alvarez Solon's former husband had contacted the Queensland police in 2004 wanting to talk to the Immigration Department about her deportation. The police emailed the department on September 28, 2004, but there is no record of a response.

The department realised on August 21, 2003, that in 2001 it had mistakenly deported Ms Alvarez Solon. This followed a search of its database after a Queensland police inquiry.