The Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce has renewed calls for a royal commission into the detention of asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru after The Guardian published a series of leaked files concerning inmates at the detention centre which it says corroborate previous allegations submitted to the government as far back as 2014.
The more than 2,000 leaked files, which were published by The Guardian today, detail allegations of assaults, sexual assaults and self-harm at the Nauru centre with more than half of the incidents reportedly involving children.
Misha Coleman, executive director of the churches’ taskforce, says the files corroborate allegations in letters from detainees which were smuggled out of the camp on Nauru in 2014.
“These were allegations that were completely ignored,” she said. “They were a horrific red flag to the scale of abuse and the government did nothing. The government knew. It then did nothing to prevent the ongoing daily acts of abuse committed on children and women especially.”
She said while the letters detailed a range of abuse cases “including a rape and an alleged cover-up of that rape”, it was clear from the files that the situation had “sunk to unholy depths”.
The taskforce chairman, Rev Dr Peter Catt – who called for a royal commission in the wake of the letters back in 2014 – repeated the call today and asked for those detained on Nauru to be immediately brought back to Australia.
“In the same way that the government reacted swiftly and correctly to the expose of the abuse at Dondale Detention Centre, we call on the government to react swiftly and bring people here to Australia, out of harm’s way,” he said in a statement.
Among others joining the chorus of voices calling for an independent investigation into the detention of people on Nauru are the Australian Medical Association and the Refugee Council of Australia.
Tim O’Connor, acting CEO of the council, said the files were “devastating proof of the systematic abuse that continues within the Australian initiated and funded offshore immigration detention program”.
“The veil of secrecy is gone and now the Australian public can know in sickening detail of the abuse that is being perpetrated in their name on Nauru,” he said. “We must act immediately to secure the safety of these vulnerable people in our care.”
Responding to the release, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the published material would be “carefully examined” while former Immigration Minister – and now Treasurer – Scott Morrison pointed out that the incident reports were a record of allegations and not a report of facts.
