Detention of minors 'wrong, ridiculous', says Leonora mayor

LEONORA Shire President Jeffery Carter has condemned the government's decision to lock up unaccompanied asylum-seeker children

LEONORA Shire President Jeffery Carter has condemned the Gillard government's decision to lock up unaccompanied asylum-seeker children in his desert town's detention centre.

The first of about 70 unaccompanied minors are due to be flown into Leonora, 830km east of Perth, from Christmas Island today. The rest are to arrive tomorrow. The town's detention centre has been emptied of all other asylum-seekers ahead of their arrival.

Mr Carter said he was amazed the federal government and opposition would allow the teenagers, aged 14 to 17, to be detained alone.

"I just don't like the idea of juveniles being locked up," he said.

"It's wrong. They haven't committed a crime asking for refugee status in Australia.

"They're not going to be walking the streets or doing anything else, they're going to be locked up behind a fence. I just reckon the federal government and all sides of politics really want to have a good look at themselves, in my personal opinion. This is just ridiculous what they're doing."

Mr Carter called for the youths to be housed with asylum-seekers from their own ethnic backgrounds who had already been granted refugee status and were living in the community.

"If they can't do that, they can put them in the general community in foster homes. It would be better than doing this."

The Department of Immigration said it did not comment on asylum-seeker transfers.

Most of the 70 unaccompanied minors are believed to be from the group of asylum-seekers who had been due to be sent to Malaysia until the High Court ruled a refugee swap with Kuala Lumpur unlawful last month.

Leonora District High School already has extra staff, including teachers of English as a second language, to cater for children among the family groups who were at the detention centre previously.

School principal Greg Fisher said the school had enough classrooms for 70 more students.