The revelation comes as the court considers whether immigration detention facilities in Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide were established unlawfully. auspol
The federal government has sought to keep secret a list of dozens of hotels, schools, clinics, hospitals, businesses and homes it uses as makeshift detention facilities for refugees and asylum seekers across Greater Melbourne.
Kurdish refugee Mostafa Azimitabar sparked the Federal Court action, seeking to prove that two Melbourne hotels he was detained in for 14 months were established unlawfully, and therefore his lengthy detention in those hotels was unlawful. He is seeking unspecified damages for his treatment. Lawyers for the Commonwealth have argued the immigration minister, through a delegate, can establish detention sites in a range of buildings, so long as they meet the definition of a detention facility.
Barrister Lisa De Ferrari, SC, acting for Azimitabar, told the court immigration ministers could use the power afforded by section 273 of the Migration Act to establish and run detention centres. Instead, she argued, the minister relied upon implied powers to establish alternative places of detention, and delegated that responsibility to officials.Of the MITA detention facility, which is home to more than 200 detainees, Ms De Ferrari said: “It’s just as invalid as the Mantra Hotel ...
Justice Bernard Michael Murphy said the Commonwealth had clear powers to establish, maintain and regulate detention centres. Commonwealth lawyers sought to suppress a lengthy list held by contractor Serco of suburban buildings the government uses to detain refugees and asylum seekers in the community, on the grounds they could breach commercial-in-confidence provisions.
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