Wrong to send Ms Z home to China and abortion

A decision to send an eight-month pregnant Chinese illegal immigrant home, where she was forced to abort her baby under the one-child policy, was a mistake and such a case should never happen again, a parliamentary committee has found.

A report tabled yesterday condemned Government action on the deportation of the woman, known as Ms Z, whose case was highlighted by Tasmanian Independent Senator Brian Harradine last year.

The Senate's Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee could not confirm Ms Z was forced to abort, because it was unable to interview her, but they believed that to be the case.

It found that her removal from Australia and "the subsequent abortion she suffered in the People's Republic of China could put Australia in breach of our obligations under the [UN's] Convention of Torture".

The committee said the Acting Minister of Immigration was not advised of any pregnancies among the group (that included the woman) about to be deported.

The committee has called for a "protocol on the fitness to travel of pregnant women (especially those in later stages) be developed as a matter of urgency".

Other recommendations in the committee report found that Australia should become more serious about its humanitarian program.

Andrew Clennell