April 27th, 2006

The discovery of asbestos at the Villawood Detention Center in Sydney has resulted in inmates having to be moved to alternative facilities, one of which is one of the toughest prisons in the country. Government officials confirmed that the 260 detainees currently held at Villawood would need to be moved to different locations as a temporary measure after the carcinogenic substance was discovered at the site.

Over 150 of the detainees at Villawood are to be transferred to a facility that suffered a problem with asbestos only last year, the Holsworthy Army Barracks in Sydney. A further 70 are to be sent to detention centers in the area, and 14 convicted inmates currently waiting to be deported are to be transferred to the Long Bay Jail in Sydney.

Officials have stated that clean up work at the detention center should take around two weeks, after which time the transferred inmates would be able to return to the facility. A spokesperson at the center stated: "While our expert advice is that the asbestos is of low risk, we are relocating detainees as a precautionary measure that will ensure there is no risk to the safety or health of staff, detainees, visitors, police or local residents."

However, detainees have expressed anger over the decision and are threatening to go on a hunger strike in protest. A Refugee Action Coalition spokesperson stated that detainees should be released, and said: "They should be released, not relocated. Even if there's remedial work on the asbestos, the detainees are going to be brought back to a toxic environment."