[Greens-Media] Senate tells government to reveal Nauru incidents

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

MEDIA RELEASE

Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Senate tells government to reveal Nauru incidents

The secrecy that hangs over the government's offshore detention camps will be lifted by an order from the Senate that the government table a year's worth of incident reports and complaints of sexual abuse from the Nauru detention camp, the Australian Greens have said.

"The government has to explain to the Australian people what is going on in the Nauru camp," the Greens' immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

"After months of mounting reports of the shocking conditions inside the camp, it's time the lid was blown off of this pressure cooker.

"Allegations that children are being assaulted and that women are being threatened with rape after being released into the community cannot be swept under the carpet.

"Keeping human beings in horrific circumstances, out of sight and out of mind, is unacceptable.

"The government has failed to respond adequately to report after report of inappropriate behaviour inside the Nauru and Manus Island detention camps. Hopefully now, after this demand for transparency from the Senate, we will start to see the truth.

"The Minister has until the end of the sitting week to table these documents in the Senate."


Media Contact: Noah Schultz-Byard 0427 604 760


The motion, as supported by the Senate, reads as follows;

Senator Hanson-Young<http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=I0U>: I move that there be laid on the table by the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, no later than 3 pm on Thursday, 2 October 2014, the following documents:


-          all incident reports logged at the Nauru detention centre relating to the misconduct of centre staff for the past 12 months; and

-          all complaints of sexual assault, exploitation and child abuse made to case workers at the Nauru detention centre in the past 12 months.

NOAH SCHULTZ-BYARD  STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER

OFFICE OF SENATOR SARAH HANSON-YOUNG
AUSTRALIAN GREENS SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA
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