Australia can help Indonesia's impoverished rather than incarcerate their children - October 15, 2011.

Following previous media releases on the fact that we have come to Sydney to highlight the continuing predicament of Indonesian children in Australian adult prisons, and the fact that we will travel to Indonesia to aggregate as much court admissible evidence to assist in the release of as many of the thereabouts 100 children languishing in adult prisons, and the latest media release confirming that Senator Lee Rhiannon and Senator Sarah Hanson-Young have promised me that they will finally ask questions in the Senate Estimates and the Senate regarding the predicament of these children, I add the following:

It is not only Indonesian children who have been charged as perceived people smugglers who are in Australian adult prisons, we also have Indonesian fisherpeople who have been charged and incarcerated as adults, when in fact they are children, for fishing in excised waters. I met many of them in HAKEA Prison early last year while I was visiting Aboriginal prisoners to talk about educational pathway programs. I ask the news media to highlight the plight of all of them, of the perceived people smugglers and of the fisherpeople who many are in fact children languishing in Australian adult prisons.

Furthermore, let us consider that all these peoples are some of the world's most impoverished people, children - and Australia is incarcerating them at a cost of $100,000 per annum. That's half a million thereabouts by the time they are released, what a waste! let alone the unlawfulness of incarcerating all those whom are children.

Multiply the half a million dollars by five hundred incarcerated Indonesian youth and children and that is $50 million dollars misspent. And this figure may only continue to increase. Would it not be better for Australia to spend these millions in programs and infrastructure in the towns and villages that these youth and children are from, and we better their lives, reducing the risk of impoverished peoples having to fish in excised waters or getting on board unseaworthy boats in helping others as cooks and deckhands to earn the equivalent of a score of Australian dollars to help feed their families?

Australia should work closely with many of the towns and villages and help them, improve lives, and just do the right thing and win the respect of the Indonesian peoples and of the Indonesian government in the effort - lead by example. $50 million Australian dollars not spent on incarcerating Indonesian youth and children and instead spent in Indonesian villages and towns will go a long way, a very long way forward.

Gerry Georgatos - 0430 657 309
gerry_georgatos@yahoo.com.au