Jane Salmon has spent thousands in recent years buying phones for detained asylum seekers.
She’s outraged over the government’s plan to ban phones from all individuals in Australian detention centres.
“It's just a kick in the teeth after all that,” she told SBS News.
She said the phones she and others buy for detainees can be a necessity given the stress and depression that prolonged detention can cause.
“Even just having someone to talk to when you need to is so important – they're taking away a lifeline.”
A Senate Estimates appearance by Border Force Commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg earlier this week defending the ban has only provoked further outrage from critics.
“It is a well-known fact that in custodial settings things like mobile phones are not just contraband and currency, but are actually utilised to ferment a whole range of activities, including escapes and the smuggling of contraband into the centres,” Mr Quaedvlieg said.
The Commissioner said he had concerns about phone owners being “stood over” by other envious detainees.
“The crime excuse is just such a beat-up,” Ms Salmon said.
The department declined provide SBS with figures on the prevalence of criminality involving phones, but advocates say any impact is negligible.
Access to justice
Human rights lawyer George Newhouse, who recently won an injunction temporarily preventing the government from confiscating phones, said that the government’s arguments don't stack up.
“If the Australian Border Force is worried about standover men, perhaps they should be dealing with them and protecting vulnerable detainees from that form of intimidation, rather than taking away the rights of the vulnerable,” Mr Newhouse said.
“Most detainees aren't escapees or drug dealers. The government needs to work at creating better systems rather than imposing a blanket ban,” he said.
Newhouse told SBS it was important to have the immediate ability to contact legal representatives, and that a mobile phone ban would frustrate this.
“If you ring into the detention centre, it’s unlikely that they’ll let you speak to the client,” he said, “it’s incredibly difficult.”
Phones are placed in public areas in detention centres, but there is the capacity to call and leave messages, the department said.
Mr Newhouse said that in high-profile case of 'Abyan', a 23-year-old alleged rape victim who had been transferred to Australia for a termination, he only discovered the swift transfer of his client back to Nauru after messages from fellow detainees.
Government documents show Border Force feared the asylum seeker would commence legal action to prevent a return trip.
Roman Quaedvlieg told Senate Estimates that concerns over legal access and other potential issues were being addressed by rolling out more hardline phones.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection told SBS there was now one hardline phone for every 7 to 8 detainees.
But that hasn’t assuaged the critics.
“The claim that land lines in the detention are adequate is a joke,” said advocate Ian Rintoul.
In a class action case currently being heard by the Federal Court, Newhouse has argued that the Migration Act provides no basis for the department removing phones.
In Senate Estimates, Commissioner Quaedvlieg promised to “vigorously litigate” the issue, but admitted there was no specific law banning mobile devices.
The case heads back to court on March 2 over a jurisdictional issue.
No change for maritime arrivals
Despite the current injunction which has put a halt to the planned ban, the department says it has no plans to return the 179 phones they have already taken, deeming them ‘voluntarily surrendered’.
Detainees were offered $50 phone credit in return for handing in their phones, a spokesperson said.
But the ban will not affect the 417 asylum seekers detained in Australia who arrived by boat – they are already subject to a ban on mobile devices.
Domestic detainees are primarily a mix of asylum seekers, visa over-stayers and foreigners who've had visas canceled on character grounds.
“The existing ban on asylum seekers who arrived by boat having a phone is absurd and inconsistent. Everybody should have a phone,” said Ian Rintoul.
When asked, the department declined to provide a justification for the pre-existing ban.
Approximately 1,350 people are currently in immigration detention facilities in Australia and Christmas Island, 44% of whom have been detained more than a year.
Some advocates worry the new ban could spread to offshore facilities, where asylum seekers have used cell phones to report conditions to lawyers, document abuse, speak with journalists, and stay connected with family.
The Immigration Department, which has consistently sought to distance itself from the operation of offshore facilities, said that an offshore ban wasn’t on their radar.
“The operation of regional processing centres is a matter for either the Government of Nauru or the Government of PNG,” a spokesperson said.
