he Government should pay compensation to Indonesian minors convicted and jailed in Australia on people smuggling offences, according to the head of a Senate Committee that investigated the issue.
Greens Senator Penny Wright also wants the Government to issue an apology to Indonesians who have spent time in Australian jails, only later to be released because of concerns about their age.
Senator Wright chaired the inquiry into the issue of underage people smugglers in Australian jails, amid concerns about the reliability of the technology used to determine age.
Earlier this year, the Government reviewed the cases of 28 Indonesian crew members who had been prosecuted on people smuggling offences and later released 15 people because of concerns they were too young.
The review was prompted by requests from the Indonesian government and the Australian Human Rights Commission, following complaints about the X-ray technology used to determine age.
The Senate committee has recommended that wrist X-rays be no longer used as an approved method of working out how old someone is.
Instead, it says Australia should formalise a process with the Indonesian government to speed up access to information regarding those arrested on people smuggling offences.
"Prompt legal aid assistance should be provided to all individuals detained in Australia on suspicion of people smuggling charges who claim to be minors," the committee report states.
"The committee is of the view that consular assistance should be provided to suspected people smugglers who claim to be minors as soon as practicable after their arrival in Australia."
The committee has also recommended that the burden of proof for determining age should rest on the prosecution where an alleged people smuggler claims to be a minor.
But the chair of the Committee has gone further, suggesting Indonesian minors who have spent time in jail should be offered compensation and an apology.
"The inquiry heard evidence that young Indonesians detained in Australia were subjected to arbitrary detention, housed in adult facilities with convicted murderers and paedophiles, and separated from their families for significant lengths of time," Senator Wright wrote in the report.
"In light of the suffering caused to Indonesian minors who have been wrongfully detained or imprisoned in Australia, appropriate compensation should also be made available to individuals who have been wrongly detained in Australia, even if they have now returned to Indonesia."
Senator Wright says those who have been wrongfully imprisoned are generally illiterate, poor, non-English speaking Indonesian teenagers who have no real prospect of finding the legal help needed to lodge a compensation claim.
As such, she says the Government should proactively seek out underage Indonesians who have spent time in Australian jails.
Attorney-General Nicola Roxon says she will consider the committee's recommendations, although a spokesman notes that the Government has already acted on many of the committee's concerns.
abc.net.au
