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Wrongly detained woman to sue Australian govt over treatment

SYDNEY: A German-born Australian resident who spent almost a year behind bars in an immigration department bungle will seek compensation and an apology from the government, her legal guardian said Wednesday. An official inquiry into why Cornelia Rau spent 10 months in jail and in an outback detention centre has strongly criticised her treatment by immigration authorities as “demonstrably inadequate.” The inquiry’s draft report, parts of which were tabled in Queensland state parliament late Tuesday, found that the government failed to provide proper care to Rau, a mentally ill woman “who was simply a person who desperately needed help.” The ten months she spent in detention were also likely to have aggravated her illness, said the report by former police commissioner Mick Palmer. Her guardian, South Australia state public advocate John Harley, said he would make a claim on Rau’s behalf and it was reasonable to expect an apology from the government. afp

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