2016-08-30
The Greens have introduced a motion in the Senate calling on the Government to hold a Royal Commission into Australia’s immigration detention facilities.
Greens Immigration spokesperson Nick McKim said the evidence of systemic abuse and a culture of secrecy deserved to be examined at the highest level.
“The release of the Nauru Files showed just how widespread the abuse is in Australian-run detention centres, and to date all we have seen from Peter Dutton is dismissiveness and victim blaming,” Senator McKim said.
“We need to shine the disinfectant of sunlight onto our immigration detention regime.”
“It took Prime Minister Turnbull just 12 hours after the airing of shocking footage from Don Dale to call a Royal Commission.
“There is far more evidence that people in immigration detention facilities are being systematically abused, yet to date we have had nothing but indifference from the PM.”
“We will move to have the motion debated as soon as possible.”
Full text of the motion:
That the Senate -
(a) Acknowledges the damage done to men, women and children by offshore detention on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea and Nauru as revealed to the Parliament through Senate inquiries, independent government reports and a recent leak of more than 2000 incident reports from Nauru; and
(b) Calls on the government to establish a Royal Commission into Australia’s immigration detention facilities, including those on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea and Nauru.