Boarder protection

Serco is Benito Dutton’s favourite onshore immigration detention provider. You’ll recall Gadfly’s controlled outburst about the drug tests at the Serco-run Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation centre, where well-meaning citizens who want to visit the minister’s prisoners are given an uncomfortable time and, in some instances, turned away by the uniformed officials.

Liberty Victoria took up the protest and wrote to Serco. Jessie Taylor, the president of the human rights organisation, received a reply from Tim Redhead, privacy officer, Serco Asia Pacific, who makes it clear we should all relax – refugees and asylum seekers are not prisoners, they’re simply boarding with us.

Tim says: “We refer to your correspondence of 6th July 2018. Serco are [sic] a contracted service provider under a Commonwealth Contract as defined under section 6 of the

Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), managing the Immigration Detention Facilities and Detainee Services Contract through the Department of Immigration and Boarder [sic] Protection. As such we take the view your correspondence has been inappropriately directed and we would refer you to the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs.”