300px|right|thumb|The entrance of the Woomera IRPC

The Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre (IRPC) was an Australian immigration detention facility near the village of Woomera in South Australia. It was opened in November 1999 in response to an increase in unauthorised arrivals, which had exceeded the capacity of other detention facilities. It was originally intended to hold 400 people, however at its peak in April 2000 it had nearly 1,500 detainees. After ongoing public pressure in response to several well publicised riots from 2000, accusations of human rights abuses, and capacity issues, the centre closed in April 2003.

The site was rebuilt during 2003, and then handed back to the Australian Department of Defence. The facility was renamed "Camp Rapier" in 2004 and has only supported Defence activities on the Woomera Test Range since that time.

Most detainees applied for refugee status, and had no possibility for release until their claim had been finalised. Men, women, and children were detained at the centre. The highest number of children detained at any one time was 456, out of a total population of 1442, on 1 September 2001. As at 26 December 2003, the average length of detention for children was one year, 8 months, and 11 days. An unaccompanied child refugee had this to say:

:I believe you [Australians] are nice people, peace seekers, you support unity. If you come to see us behind the fence, think about how you would feel. Are you aware of what happens here? Come and see our life. I wonder whether if the Government of Iran created camp like Woomera and Australians had seen pictures of it, if they would have given people a visa to come to Australia then.

In June 2000, there were two days of protests. Approximately 480 detainees broke out and walked into the township. In August 2000 there were three days of riots and fires; 60–80 detainees were involved, and tear gas and water cannons were used. 32 staff were injured during this riot.

Breakout

Over the Easter holiday of 2002, about 1000 protesters gathered at the gates of Woomera to voice their opposition to the mandatory detention of refugees. About 40 refugees escaped from the centre during this protest. Most were captured over the coming hours and subsequently deported, but some made it out of the desert, though some were reported to the police and later deported, and at least one was granted a temporary protection visa.

Approved for visas

80% of those detained over the years have been found to be genuine refugees, the majority being issued with a temporary protection visa.

Closure

The centre was closed in April 2003, and all remaining detainees were transferred to Baxter Immigration Reception and Processing Centre. With the hand back of the Woomera facilities to Defence as part of the wider upgrade of the Woomera Test Range, Woomera will not be used again as any form of IRPC as the facility is now part of the Test Range itself.

Further controversy

The detention centre was a source of much controversy during its time of operation. There were a number of riots and escapes, as well as accusations of human rights abuses from groups as diverse as refugee advocates, Amnesty International, the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, ChilOut, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations, although no charges have ever been laid against any person against such public accusations.

In March 2002, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Irene Khan, said:

:It is obvious that the prolonged periods of detention, characterised by frustration and insecurity, are doing further damage to individuals who have fled grave human rights abuses. The detention policy has failed as a deterrent and succeeded only as punishment. How much longer will children and their families be punished for seeking safety from persecution?

Throughout the controversy, then-Prime Minister John Howard and successive immigration ministers maintained that their actions at Woomera were justified in the interests of protecting Australia's borders and ensuring that immigration law was enforced. A 2004 Liberal Party election policy document stated:

:The Coalition Government's tough stance on people smuggling stems from the core belief that Australia has the right to decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come. Deterrence has been achieved through excision, boat returns, offshore processing and mandatory detention.

The centre is the subject of a video game, Escape From Woomera, an unfinished point-and-click adventure video game, intended to criticise the treatment of mandatorily detained asylum seekers in Australia, as well as the Australian government's attempt to impose a media blackout on the detention centres.

It is also the subject of a play, Woomera, which tells the story of Justin, a young prison guard recently arrived at the detention centre.

See also

  • List of Australian immigration detention facilities

References

  • Brennan, Fr Frank (2003). Tampering with Asylum. University of Queensland Press. .
  • Huysmans, J (2005) What is Politics? an Open University text for the course DD 203.
  • Through the Wire Award-winning short documenting the 2002 Woomera Breakout Pip Starr
  • DIMIA Detention Facilities No Longer Operational
  • Four Corners documentary: "About Woomera"
  • HREOC Inquiry – Setting the Scene – Children in Immigration Detention
  • Fire damage from arson on 30 December 2002 at Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre, South Australia, 8 January 2003 / Damian McDonald
  • Photographs of Woomera Detention Centre protest Easter 2002 / Tony Reddrop
  • Waking Up The Nation. Online Detention Centres Documentary 2002/2005