Australia dropped secrecy rules which were unnecessary, undermined democratic accountability and were likely to have been unconstitutional, writes Kelsi Farrington
The Australian government has quietly dropped secrecy rules which would have seen employees of immigration detention centres – everyone from guards to lawyers and teachers – face two years in prison if they spoke out about the mistreatment of detainees.
In recent years, health professionals, lawyers and international rights groups have repeatedly condemned the Australian Border Force Act and the dire conditions inside the ‘offshore processing’ refugee camps on Nauru and Manus Island.
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