THE HON. PHILIP RUDDOCK
FORMER ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Mr Ruddock, thank you for coming in.

It has been too long, Bryan.

You’ve expressed regret this week.

I have, yes.

About the length of time the Australian Government held children in detention.

That’s right.

This was when you were in government?

Yes, that’s right.

What was your portfolio at the time?

I was the immigration minister.

And who were the children?

They were the children of people seeking asylum in Australia.

And they were put in detention?

Yes.

Is that normal?

It was normal at that time.

And you now regret that?

I regret the length of time the children were kept in detention.

Yes, and did you speak to the immigration minister?

I was the immigration minister.

So you regret yourself?

I do not regret myself. I regret that the children were not released earlier than they were.

Why weren’t the children released earlier?

Because of a lack of funding.

Are there hidden costs in opening a gate?

That is a facetious remark and one I am inclined to ignore.

Well, you tell me, what are the costs in letting children out of a jail?

It was not a jail.

What was it called then, this place where children were incarcerated for longer than you now think they should have been?

The children, as I have repeatedly said, were in detention.

And you would have liked extra funding for what reason?

I said I regret that we did not have extra funding.

Why?

We could have built a better jail.

For the children?

A jail more suitable for the retention of children.

Maybe with some toys?

What are toys?

You’ve also expressed some misgivings about the handling of the Haneef case.

There was no case against Mr Haneef.

That’s right. No case was brought against Dr Haneef. You have some concerns about the handling of the matter.

There was an investigation by the police and another by ASIO and the legal view may be that each of these compromises the other.

And did you speak to the Attorney-General?

I was the Attorney-General.

Will we be hearing more of your regrets?

I imagine I might have further regrets, yes, over time.

As you think about what you did?

I do not regret what I did.

You did everything you’ve regretted so far.

I regret the circumstances in which I was forced to do these things.

For eleven years.

For eleven years.

Thanks for your time.

I shot the albatross.