Fed: Rau-like case lesson to department and police

AAP General News (Australia)
02-13-2006
Fed: Rau-like case lesson to department and police
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CANBERRA, Feb 13 AAP - A new case of wrongful detention of a mentally ill person would
provide lessons to both the immigration department and police, a Senate committee heard
today.

Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone had earlier told a newspaper that the case involving
a person with mental illness was one of 220 of possible wrongful detention being investigated
by the ombudsman.

She said she was asked by a reporter if she was aware if any of the 200 cases were
similar to the Cornelia Rau case.

Ms Rau, a mentally ill Australian resident, was wrongfully detained for 10 months,
before her identity was discovered last March.

Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs secretary Andrew Metcalfe today
told the Legal and Constitutional Senate Estimates Committee that the person involved
in the new case was not removed from Australia.

He said the case would provide lessons to his department and the police about handling
mentally ill people.

"It is a case which does raise significant concerns," he said.

"It's an issue which goes to significant concerns as to establishing identity and I
think as the minister has indicated it has important lessons both for us as well as the
police.

"There are mental health issues associated with the individual."

Mr Metcalfe said he would not comment on the gender of the person.

He said the department was currently trying to establish a mental health screening
process when people enter detention.

"It is a troubling case and it clearly throws up that large organisations such as ourselves,
such as the police, in confronting people with a history of mental illness, recognising

those issues, particular people who may come from other cultures, that there are some
very serious issues," he said.

"We've heard at length this morning about the work the department is doing in relation
to mental health reform and trying to introduce screening right at the beginning of processes
to try to ensure that we do in fact identify people who are of concern."

Senator Vanstone told the committee the case came to her attention when she asked her
department to pass on any cases to the ombudsman of people who were released from detention
because they were later found to be lawful residents.

"I asked the department to very quickly pick up the rug and see where else could something
like this possibly have happened and the only indicator available to us is one that we
implemented apparently in the year 2000 called `released later found lawful' because that's
what happened to Cornelia Rau," she said.

"And they went back and picked out all the cases that fitted into that category and
I said all of them should be looked at."

The committee was told that DIMA is now talking to the ombudsman about another 27 cases
but they have not been formally passed on for investigation.

AAP klw/sb

KEYWORD: DETENTION

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