💧DUKE Clyde (HANSARD)CFW9 (Biden-Harris ELECT)💧 · @nobby15
28th Sep 2016 from TwitLonger
Abuse Royal Commission Won’t Visit Manus, Nauru For Investigation
The abuse royal commission will not be visiting Nauru detention centre, pictured, or Manus Island as part of any expanded inquiry.
The Australian3:24PM September 28, 2016
The Royal Commission into child abuse has decided that it will not visit Nauru or Manus Island as part of any expanded investigations.
However, it is still investigating how the Department of Immigration and Border Protection responded to allegations of abuse at the facilities run by Australian agencies.
And the commission made clear today that it may still decide to hold a public hearing in Australia examining how allegations at the detention facilities have been handled..
Responding today to questions from The Australian, the Royal Commission said: “If the Royal Commission does decide to hold a hearing in relation to institutional responses to the sexual abuse of children in immigration detention it will not be visiting Nauru or Manus Island.”
Sources independent of the commission told The Australian that there are currently negotiations between the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Royal Commission about what documents should be made available to the commission.
It is understood from legal sources that there is some resistance in the department to handing over all material related to the treatment of children in the facilities.
Following the recent publication of case studies by The Guardian alleging widespread abuse at the detention facilities, the Royal Commission said: “The Royal Commission does not ordinarily comment upon operation matters.
“However, because of the level of public discussion in relation to immigration detention centres the commission indicates the following: The Royal Commission has an ongoing investigation in relation to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s response to allegations of child sexual abuse in detention centres.
“Whether or not a public hearing is warranted has not been determined.”
The commission said at that time that it was conscious that a child protection panel was established by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection in May, 2015.
It said the panel’s terms of references indicated that a final report would be provided to the secretary of the department by mid 2016 covering both better practice and a comprehensive sample of reviews.
The Royal Commission today told The Australian that it was not aware if that panel’s report had been published.