Hawke Labor had its immigration 'issues'

BACK in the mid-1980s the Labor government of Bob Hawke had immigration problems almost to be envied by Labor of 2013.

Asylum seekers arriving by boat were not a problem - because there weren't any.

The Human Rights Commission actually favoured holding illegal immigrants in immigration detention centres, albeit as an alternative to jails.

And the illegal immigrants were mostly visa overstayers, of whom about a third departed of their own accord. Another third left under immigration department supervision with the rest, just under a third, deported.

Cabinet papers for 1984 and 1985, released by the National Archives of Australia, show then immigration minister Chris Hurford was concerned that the system of processing those seeking to become permanent residents was outmoded and becoming increasingly unworkable.

Applicants were appearing at the rate of 10,000 a year, with appeals by those rejected producing backlogs of a year or more.

Hurford said administrative law sought to establish safeguards against arbitrary exercise of discretion by officials. In the peculiar field of immigration, delay worked to the benefit of the applicant.

"These safeguards have been abused so that administration has now become a nightmare, both in terms of frustration of government and the resources consumed," he said.

Hurford cited the recent case of a man who arrived without a passport or visa. The man admitted he had deliberately disposed of his passport and was refused entry at the airport.

Previously he sought and was refused a visa three times overseas.

His appeals occupied a Federal Court judge for a week and then the full Federal Court for another two days.

"The plain fact is that adverse decisions involve more time and resources than favourable ones," the minister lamented.

Hurford recommended change to immigration laws to penalise those who did the wrong thing, removing review rights, other than through the High Court.

Hurford also proposed special immigration appeal adjudicators who would sit alone in hearing cases. Those seeking leave to appeal would have no automatic right to remain in Australia pending the outcome.

The minister said the determination of refugee status was another major area of concern because of its political delicacy.

He recommended that power to decide on these cases should remain with him, acting on advice of the refugee status determination committee.

Hurford had other concerns. Australia's immigration detention centres were strained and he needed better facilities and more staff.

By 2013 standards, this wasn't much of a problem.

Now there are more than 5000 people in immigration detention facilities. In 1985, the three detention centres in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth had a combined capacity of 170.

They all were visa overstayers awaiting deportation with an average stay under a fortnight.

Hurford conceded the illegal immigrant population, estimated at 50,000, was increasing. It was estimated 30,000 a year became illegal immigrants but about half left or regularised their status.

The long-term illegal immigrant population was estimated around 15,000.

Hurford said the Human Rights Commission had recommended significant improvements in conditions at the detention centres which the government was implementing.

In a review of the Migration Act in May 1985, the commission recommended that the practice of holding illegal immigrants and deportees in jails should cease forthwith and the immigration detention centres be used instead.

Boats carrying asylum seekers from Indo-China started arriving in 1976 and ended in 1981, with none at all arriving until the second wave began in 1989-90.

That prompted Labor to introduce the controversial policy of mandatory detention in 1992.

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