Abbott is Standing up to his Bullies, Suicidally Desperate Refugee mothers

"No Australian government should be subjected to the spectacle of people saying 'unless you accept us, I am going to commit self harm'," your Prime Minister Tony Abbott bravely told Channel Nine yesterday. "I don't believe any thinking Australian would want us to capitulate to moral blackmail."

Yes, Tony isn't going to be pushed around by the powerful new-mothers-languishing-in-detention lobby any longer. For too long he's been forced to endure vague public embarrassment that women on Christmas Island have been attempting suicide rather than be transferred to Manus Island or Nauru, believing that if their children were orphans then Australia would be forced to take care of them.

Fortunately your PM has finally stood up to those selfish, tuberculosis-riddled bullies who have been cruelly attempting to force our poor, beleaguered PM to allow their babies a better life.

"This is not going to be a government which has our policy driven by people who are attempting to hold us over a moral barrel – we won't be driven by that."

What exactly a "moral barrel" is remains tantalisingly unclear - but be warned, desperate women we're keeping locked up indefinitely: our PM won't take your abuse any longer. He knows what drives good policy, and it sure as hell doesn't involve anything moral.

Oh, and that self-harm and suicide attempts that your PM won't be swayed by? It's surged to never-before-seen levels since mandatory offshore detention and the companies tasked with running the camps don't really know what the hell to do about it.

That's according to a leaked document the Guardian got its hand upon that was sent to the government from Serco, the company running all our detention centres, which has the heartwarming statistic that rates of self harm among detainees have surged sixfold between July 2013 and January 2014.

“There has been an increase in self-harm, particularly on Christmas Island where the detainee cohort is most heavily impacted by new policies,” the report reads."As time in detention continues to increase, it is likely that a corresponding increase will be experienced more broadly across the IDN [immigration detention network]."

And why might there be an increase?

"It is assessed that as detainees continue to realise their pathway proposition, there will almost certainly be a continued shift in demeanour where detainees may individually, or collectively, attempt to coerce or test policy outcomes through a range of adverse behaviours."

Fortunately the government will not kowtow to the requests of the security forces tasked with looking after our detainees. After all: if you start adequately training and staffing our detention centres, the people smugglers win.

SOUTH Australia’s welfare groups want to house and look after asylum seekers who have infants born in Australia.

Organisations including Anglicare SA, Baptist Care, CareWorks SA and NT, Centacare, Lutheran Community Care, The Salvation Army and Uniting Communities will propose the move during a visit to the Immigration Department, on Currie St, this morning.

The proposal is in response to reports of mothers self-harming and attempting suicide on Christmas Island out of despair over their sick children.

It will allow the detained families and their infants to live in the SA community while their claims are being processed.

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There have been 71 children born in Australia to asylum-seeking mothers.

Anglicare SA chief executive Reverend Peter Sandeman said families needed support while their claims were processed.

“The Federal Government, under the Migration Act, already says detaining children should be a last resort. Anglicare SA and other organisations already support new arrivals in the community and this would be an extension of our existing support,” Rev Sandeman said.

“It can take up to two years for claims to be processed.

“We would like to show compassion to asylum seekers and give babies the best start by accommodating them and their families in South Australia while their claims are processed.”

Uniting Communities CEO Simon Schrapel said the proposal was designed to support and protect children.

“Babies and infants are the most vulnerable of all, they do not belong in detention and if we do not act to protect them Australia will be condemned by future generations,” Mr Schrapel said.