Detention centre opens up to journos

As the federal government begins the shift to community-based immigration detention, it’s beginning to open the doors of its traditional detention facilities to public scrutiny.

asylum_detention_B_110614_aap_1631156715

(AAP)

As the federal government begins the shift to community-based immigration detention, it's beginning to open the doors of its traditional detention facilities to public scrutiny.

The media was invited to tour the Inverbrackie place of alternative detention in the Adelaide Hills on Wednesday, the third facility to host such visits in recent weeks.

It's part of a process to demystify detention – albeit with strict privacy provisions in force.

"We want you to see that in fact we are looking after them, that we are providing them with services on a similar basis that the rest of the community has services provided for them", government spokesman Sandi Logan says.

It's aimed at exploding the myth of detainees living in luxury, while also demonstrating that their basic needs are being met.

But what you're not allowed to see or hear are the detainees themselves, or the many of the staff.

Strict access conditions included vetting of all film and photographs, and no audio recordings, lest detainees be identified or family back home targeted.

Media were allowed to speak with detainees, provided they weren't recorded.

SBS's Karen Ashford has more.




Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

By Karen Ashford


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world