PoliticalClaims.au

The claim refers to a specific incident involving the Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project (BASP), a program run by Catholic nuns who had been taking children from the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation (MITA) on supervised day trips to locations including the Collingwood Children's Farm, adventure playgrounds, and occasionally the zoo [1]. **Key facts verified:** - The BASP program operated for approximately four years (since around 2011) before being suspended in mid-2015 [1][2][3] - The Australian Border Force (ABF) suspended the program in June 2015 citing a need for review [1][2] - By December 2015, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection confirmed the program had ceased, stating the outings were "not deemed appropriate and there was limited supervision of the activities" [1][2] - At the time, there were 17 children being held at MITA in Broadmeadows [1] - ABF Regional Commander Don Smith explained the decision, stating: "the types of activities and the places they were taking them to, we had no visibility of and no control over" [1][2] - Sister Brigid Arthur, who ran the BASP program, disputed that there were any security incidents during the four years of operation, stating: "We did this for four years and we never had someone who didn't turn up" [1][2] **Important correction to the claim:** The claim states children were "banned" from zoo visits entirely.