AMA calls for release of children in detention
The AMA supports the principled and ethical stance taken by Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Melbourne doctors in raising concerns about the physical and mental health of children in immigration detention centres, and will call on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to intervene with a compassionate and humane solution.
AMA President, Professor Brian Owler, said that all children being held in immigration detention centres should be immediately released to a safe environment. He said the Melbourne doctors are holding true to the ethics and principles of the medical profession in raising these concerns and the AMA strongly supports them.
The AMA will contact the Prime Minister and the Immigration Minister reiterating the AMA’s calls for the release of children from detention, the appointment of an independent panel of medical experts to oversee the health care of detained asylum seekers, and a review of the Border Force Act, which allows heavy penalties, including imprisonment, for doctors who speak out about health standards in detention centres.
Transcript: AMA President Professor Brian Owler, Today, 12 October 2015
Transcript: AMA Vice President Dr Stephen Parnis, ABC Radio PM, 13 October 2015
