Megan Mitchell National Children’s Commissioner 26 July 2013 Children’s rights: everyone, everywhere, everyday C ASTAN C ENTRE H UMAN R IGHTS L AW C ONFERENCE 2013

Pontville Alternative Place of Detention Photo by Calla Wahlquist, The Examiner, 30 January 2013

Words from boys in Pontville APOD ‘Even if you make this place heaven it is not enough for us because we feel like we are in a cage. We feel people see us like animals in a cage.’ ‘Four months we have been staying here. Our request is they should get us out of here when we are fit and healthy, not when we are crazy.’ ‘We stay up all night and sleep all day. We don’t want to go to school because it upsets us to see others free.’ ‘At school people stare and laugh at us which makes us feel sad.’ ‘We are getting crazy pressure from our families. At 3am if you come here you will see people walking around like crazy because they can’t sleep. There are going crazy so people cut themselves.’ ‘We are fed up with people telling us we are going to get out. We don’t mind living on the street, we just want to get out.’

Child rights poster

The Big Banter somethingincommon.gov.au/thebigbanter

Stories from The Big Banter survey Young children from different countries who come on the ships should be allowed to stay in Australia because they’re young and they need to be safe from what’s happening in their country. (10 year old girl from Victoria) Police are always questioning me on my way home. I think they do this because I am a south pacific islander and they must think I am going to start a fight or something. (15 year old boy from Queensland) Sometimes my friends need help but don’t know where to go or don’t want to make a fuss. (Older girl from the ACT)