'We’ve been concerned for some time about the lack of safety for detainees and staff in detention centres.'
A group of Australian lawyers are calling on the government’s workplace regulator to step in amid reports detainees are struggling to meet social distancing requirements inside immigration detention centres.
The call for Comcare to intervene comes days after a guard at a Melbourne hotel being used to house asylum seekers “We’ve been concerned for some time about the lack of safety for detainees and staff in detention centres, which of course includes hotels that have been used by the Department of Home Affairs and Border Force,” Australian Lawyers Association spokesperson Greg Barns said.
Comcare is responsible for workplace health and safety inside Commonwealth workplaces, including detention centres. Hundreds of experts sign open letter calling for release of prisoners to avoid coronavirus deaths
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