Serco faces fines for breakout
Security provider Serco faces hefty financial penalties after a series of breakouts from the immigration detention centre at Northam.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison made his anger clear at the detention services company over the incidents, while warning the escapees likely had outside help.
There have been three breakouts from the Yongah Hill detention centre since August. Three men of Vietnamese origin escaped at the weekend. Two have been recaptured.
Mr Morrison said he was considering new sanctions against detainees who escaped.
"Currently, if you break out from detention, obviously you go back into detention," he said.
"If there is a need for greater sanctions to discourage this behaviour and looking at the internal procedures and levels of security at Yongah Hill, I want that evaluated as well."
Mr Morrison said penalties written into Serco's contract would apply, though he declined to give details.
Under the terms of Serco's confidential contract with the Commonwealth, the company can be slugged with "abatements" for escapes capped at 5 per cent of whatever the company is paid to manage the detention centre in question.
Serco said it was committed to preventing escapes from immigration detention. "The contract between (the Immigration Department) and Serco has provisions that allow Serco to be financially sanctioned for failure to meet agreed service delivery standards," a company spokeswoman said.
Serco, which also runs WA's prison transport services, has been strongly criticised after two prisoners, one a violent rapist, kicked their way out of a prison van at Geraldton airport earlier this month.
Holding a briefing on the Abbott Government's border protection regime, Mr Morrison confirmed reports in _The West Australian _ officials had bought a number of large lifeboats, though he declined to say what they would be used for.
_The West Australian _revealed last week the Government planned to use the lifeboats to turn back asylum seekers to Indonesia.
