[Greens-Media] Let the media in: Manus Island sexual assault report

[Schultz-Byard, Noah (Sen S. Hanson-Young)]

MEDIA RELEASE

Saturday, 2 November 2013

Let the media in: Manus Island sexual assault report

A report<http://www.immi.gov.au/about/dept-info/_files/review-manus-offshore-processing-centre-publication-sep2013.pdf> into sexual assaults in the Australian run and funded Manus Island detention centre has recommended that the media be let in to report on the conditions within the compound, the Australian Greens have said.

"Allowing media access to Australian funded detention centres is essential to ensure that they are properly run and that refugees are treated with care.  If the government doesn’t have anything to hide, this recommendation should be acted upon immediately," Greens’ immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“This government's obsession with secrecy around refugee arrivals and its attempts to keep the media and the public in the dark must change.

"The Immigration Minister must heed the advice of his own department's report and let the media into these horrid places, including Manus Island and Nauru. Only then can the public have the confidence of knowing what's really going on inside.

“As this report has shown, media access would help in the honest and open operation of the Manus Island detention centre.

“The Australian tax payer is funding these centres and the Immigration Department is running them but the Australian media aren’t allowed to set foot inside. That simply isn’t good enough.”

Media Contact: Noah Schultz-Byard 0427 604 760<tel:0427%20604%20760>