Healthcare workers protest in Sydney, a week after a Melbourne rally, over new laws they say put detention centre workers at risk of jail if they report abuse

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Doctors and medics have rallied in Sydney in solidarity with healthcare workers at detention centres who they say have been barred by the Australian government from reporting abuse.

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More than 250 doctors, nurses and psychologists have protested against laws that threaten jail for those who speak out about violations in detention centres. It follows a similar protest in Melbourne last week.

Medics and their families packed the steps of Sydney’s Town Hall and covered their mouths to send a message of opposition to the secrecy provision of the federal government’s new Border Force Act.

Under the legislation “an entrusted person” must not disclose protected information, with a breach potentially resulting in two years’ jail.

University of Sydney professor Maria Fiatarone Singh addressed the protesters, calling for the government to amend the legislation to allow detention centre workers to report violations without fear of prosecution.

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“How does reporting that a child has been raped by a guard ... threaten national security?” she said on Saturday. “The silence must end.”

Protester Dr James Genge said he felt compelled to rally with his children because the federal government had acted against what was “intrinsically, morally right”.

“If someone is not in detention and a child is being abused, you’ll go to jail if you don’t report it,” he said. “But if someone is in detention and you report it, you could go to jail. It defies logic. We still owe people in detention the right to be protected.”