Former Australians of the Year have written to the Federal government calling for all children to be removed immediately from immigration detention, drawing on Australia's strong values of fairness and equality.
The eminent Australians, including Dr Fiona Stanley, psychiatrist Professor Pat McGorry, scientist Ian Frazer, actor Geoffrey Rush, businessman Simon McKeon and biologist Professor Gustav Nossal, have used Australia Day to urge the government to accelerate the speed at which asylum seekers' children are being released into the community.
The letter, addressed to Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and independent senators says: "Australia is a country that justly prides itself on our commitment to fairness and equality. We are a country of hope, with a commitment to the freedom and dignity of all people, embracing the strength in our diversity, that strives to protect the rights of the most vulnerable.
"Indefinite detention of children and babies is at odds with these hopes and principles. 135 children, including babies who were born in Australia, are currently held indefinitely in harsh and unsafe conditions on Nauru."
Dr Stanley told Fairfax Media: "As both a child-health researcher and advocate, and as a parent and now grandparent, I am anguished about the children that Australia has detained."
By keeping children in detention, the damage to mental health and emotional wellbeing is likely to be significant and long lasting, Dr Stanley said.
"Even if I was not an Australian of the Year, and just as a citizen committed to social justice, I feel strongly that our policies are breaching international human rights standards and that there are better ways to respond to refugees seeking asylum here," she said.
The number of children being held in the offshore processing centre in the Pacific island of Nauru, one of the harshest environments for children according to the letter, has increased from 116 in December 2013 to 135 in December 2014.
But the number of children in detention facilities in Australia has dramatically declined.
There are 420 children in immigration facilities in Australia, according to December's Immigration Department statistics. This number has declined significantly from December 2013 when 1028 children were being held in detention facilities.
The United Nations Child Fund, UNICEF, has consistently criticised the incarceration of children held in immigration detention. In 2011 it was particularly scathing of the proposed Malaysia deal under the Labor government.
