“I think most Victorians are very, very proud of the work of the Royal Children’s Hospital.”
In all likelihood the image of hundreds of staff from the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne protesting against the treatment of children in Australia’s immigration detention facilities has cropped up in your news feed in the past 48 hours.
The photograph and accompanying statement have now be shared more than 6,500 times on Facebook and garnered more than 16,000 likes. (Mamamia ran a story saying thank you to the staff and you can read that here.)
If you missed it, here it is:
On Sunday, the Herald Sun ran an exclusive story explaining that doctors at the hospital were refusing to discharge asylum seeker children if it meant returning them to detention centres.
“Detention centres are not safe for children,” the doctors wrote.
“Children are exposed to the distress, violence and mental health problems of adults, and parents cannot protect their children from these circumstances.”
It is an incredibly brave act of defiance, not least because of new federal laws threatening health workers with up to two years’ jail for speaking out against conditions in the centres and if the Facebook post is anything to go by, the doctors certainly have public support.
Their actions have also been praised by Victoria’s Health Minister, Jill Hennessy, who said she was “incredibly proud”.
Top Comments
Bravo doctors and nurses for being decent human beings we need more like you.Miranda and Piers wont like you but those with compassion will
Doctors and nurses on Nauru have been vocal about the abuses and issues over the past few years, but have either been fired or suppressed with newly introduced laws. Fortunately, no one can bully doctors and nurses in Australia to keep quiet.