SA DEPORTEES IN "COVER-UP" ROW

Senator Amanda Vanstone and a senior immigration official have defended their decision to send an Adelaide-resident refugee family to Pakistan despite complaints of a cover-up by politicians and a refugee advocate.

Amidst calls by the Australian Democrats for an inquiry, DIMIA Deputy secretary Bob Correll said that "Any claims that the Bakhtiari family have a formal right of residence in Afghanistan do not affect the refugee assessments made in their cases, or the appropriateness of their return to Pakistan"

Refugee advocate Marylin Sheppard, whose research exposed the Vivian Alvarez scandal, asked today "When on earth is someone going to ask [Senator Vanstone} just how the hell Afghans get Pakistani citizenship without ever applying for it? Afghans are not allowed to have Pakistani citizenship."

‘The Government of Pakistan confirmed that the family are citizens of Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan confirmed this in writing and provided Pakistan travel documents for the family,’ Mr Correll said.

‘When the family was removed, they had no legal right to remain in Australia. Having pursued at least 20 different court appeals, all visa and court matters had been finalised. Pakistan had formally confirmed that they were citizens of Pakistan and so the department returned them to that country." he said. ‘If members of the family now choose to live in Afghanistan, that is their decision."

‘This does not create any basis for reopening their cases in Australia" he said

The Australian Democrats have called for an inquiry into the department's handling of the Bakhtyari case

Democrats Deputy Leader Senator Andrew Bartlett said that "One of the biggest features of the widely acknowledged cultural problems in D.I.M.I.A was a refusal to admit mistakes."

" The only way to get to the bottom of this is an independent investigation that can look at all the documents and all the evidence." Senator Bartlett said.

Senator Amanda Vanstone defended her department on Adelaide radio yesterday, saying that "I believe that proper processes were followed... it wasn't conclusive at the time, and they were unable to convince the department they were Afghanis, and they were unable to provide the department with appropriate documents."

"They were recognised by Pakistani authorities as Pakistani citizens so they were sent to Pakistan" Senator Vanstone said

Adelaide refugee advocate Marylin Sheppard said that "One woman [Senator Vanstone) transposed western values onto a poor girl from Afghanistan and called her a fraud and a liar." and asked "Did she apply for her baby boy to be a Pakistani citizen after registering his birth in SA as the child of Afghan parents?"

Ms Sheppard told ABC Radio that "No matter what Senator Vanstone says no one has the right to treat this girl and those children in the manner they've been treated by Australia "