'Sense of love' - Christchurch woman who visits Kiwis locked up on Australia's Christmas Island aims to show 'someone cares' during visits

February 26, 2018

Christchurch woman Filipa Payne pays her own way to visit New Zealander’s in the immigration detention centre.

A Christchurch woman who frequently visits Kiwis detained at Australia's Christmas Island detention centre says some Kiwis there have not even been before a judge.

Filipa Payne told her story to TVNZ 1's Sunday programme last night, saying she has met people in the detention centre who are accused of a crime, but have never been convicted.

The mother of five spends her own time and fundraises money to visit the Kiwis as part of her charity Iwi n Aus.

"The first thing I always do is actually give them a cuddle because for me a physical embrace and a sense of love and a sense of that someone cares for you can start the relationship of trust really well," Ms Payne said.

"I met a man ... he's been charged with a crime but he hasn't actually been up in front of the judge or judicial system to be found guilty of that crime.

"One person couldn't sit down ... kept on walking around the room and talking about how frustrated he was."

Another prisoner there was convicted of juvenile offending when he was a teenager, he told Sunday, before Australian Federal Police raided his home years later and flew him away from his young family.

Hundreds of Kiwis were among the "undesirable migrants" rounded up by the Australian government as part of a large-scale crackdown.

Many people in the camp describe the conditions as worse than prison, and the isolated nature of the detention camp - situation on an island in the Indian Ocean - makes it very difficult for relatives or even lawyers to visit.

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