0:00:02 > 0:00:07This programme contains some strong language
0:00:07 > 0:00:12and some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57We will decide who comes to this country
0:00:57 > 0:00:59and the circumstances in which they come.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01APPLAUSE
0:01:03 > 0:01:09You just can't continue sending a signal to the rest of the world
0:01:09 > 0:01:12that this is a nation of easy destination.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27This house today can send a very clear message to asylum seekers
0:01:27 > 0:01:31who are contemplating risking a voyage at sea.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35And that message very clearly is - don't risk it, don't give
0:01:35 > 0:01:39your money to a people smuggler, because you will not be better off.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46I make absolutely no apology whatsoever for taking
0:01:46 > 0:01:48a hard line on illegal immigration to Australia.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55What the Australian people elected us to do was to stop the boats.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59This is a national emergency. We've got to treat it as such.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04This is a border security operation.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Our resolve to implement what we have promised
0:02:09 > 0:02:12the Australian people, to stop the boats, is absolute.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20- Thank you.- You're welcome. Enjoy your day.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21Thank you.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27- How are you?- Good. How are you? - Good, thank you.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42'I knew it was a detention centre.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47'I didn't know there'd be so many high fences.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54'That people would be so restricted in their movements.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58'That they would live in tents.'
0:04:02 > 0:04:07That people have already been there for over 400, 500 days.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17I didn't know there'd be so many security personnel.
0:04:21 > 0:04:22It feels militarised.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50A friend of mine called me and told me,
0:04:50 > 0:04:52"Hey, they're hiring people to go to Nauru.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55"You should go, you're interested in asylum seekers."
0:04:55 > 0:04:57And I thought, "Yeah, yeah, I guess I am."
0:04:57 > 0:05:01So she gave me this number and she got the number off a Facebook ad,
0:05:01 > 0:05:04believe it or not, and I called this number and said,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06"I'd like to go to Nauru,"
0:05:06 > 0:05:08and the woman said, "Sure, when can you leave?"
0:05:12 > 0:05:15I was a student at Macquarie Uni in Sydney
0:05:15 > 0:05:18and I joined the Salvation Army Society on Facebook
0:05:18 > 0:05:21and they posted an ad about going to work on Nauru.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25And at the time they made it sound like a really nice, like...
0:05:25 > 0:05:28They made it sound like it was just a two-week kind of holiday,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30you could bring your friends along.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35Yeah, I called the number that was listed on the website,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38and two to three days later I was in Nauru
0:05:38 > 0:05:40with two of my best friends from school.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46My friend that came with me, he was a manager at McDonald's,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50and my other friend packed boxes in a factory.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52A wide range of people were hired and they were,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56you know, 18-year-olds, university students, retirees,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59and the only thing that we had in common was that none of us
0:05:59 > 0:06:02had experience working with refugees before.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15I can't stress enough the remoteness of the location of Nauru.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18It's in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20It's an island of 10,000 people.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24It takes 20 minutes to drive around the island.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26It's extremely hot.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39You immediately notice how poor the island is.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42When the Australian government comes to the Nauruan government and says,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45"We're going to offer you several billion dollars over the next
0:06:45 > 0:06:48"however many years to house a few thousand asylum seekers,"
0:06:48 > 0:06:51for a failing economy like Nauru,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55I can imagine it would seem like a very good option.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12On my first day, we moved up to the camp.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16The Salvation Army gave us a very small briefing and said,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20"Go out and help them, and be their friends."
0:07:20 > 0:07:24The lady that took us in there, she said, "OK, now,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27"we want you to get in pairs.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30"I'll be back in a couple of hours.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32"Go and mingle," and then she just left.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53I went up to a group of men who were sitting under the only tree
0:07:53 > 0:07:55in the whole centre.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57I asked them how they were and they said to me,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00"Why are you here?" and, "Why are we here?"
0:08:01 > 0:08:02"How long will we be here for?"
0:08:02 > 0:08:04And all we'd been given as instructions
0:08:04 > 0:08:05was go out and help the men.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08And so at that point I realised, what the hell am I doing here?
0:08:12 > 0:08:16A lot of people were really confused when they first arrived in Nauru.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23I remember one particular intake, a lot of the men were saying to me,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26"Where are we? I thought this was part of Australia."
0:08:27 > 0:08:31So it was up to us to tell them that no, you're not in Australia,
0:08:31 > 0:08:32you're in Nauru.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41One of my most vivid memories was a sign being on the wall that said
0:08:41 > 0:08:45staff would have to be trained how to use a Hoffman's knife.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48When I asked what a Hoffman's knife was,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52it was the knife used to cut people down when they're found hanging.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00Quite quickly, I started to realise that I had sent myself to
0:09:00 > 0:09:02a place which I never would have gone.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09I don't think anybody wakes up and says,
0:09:09 > 0:09:12"I've decided that I want to run a detention centre."
0:09:12 > 0:09:16I grew up on Sydney's North Shore in a fairly comfortable upbringing.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Upper middle-class white guy
0:09:19 > 0:09:22in a place with very few migrants at all,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25and frankly didn't care about immigration,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27didn't care about asylum seekers.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30It wasn't something that I'd confronted in my life
0:09:30 > 0:09:32and didn't feel it was something I was passionate about.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35It wasn't something that my friends talked about and I just
0:09:35 > 0:09:36didn't really care. It just didn't feature.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45I suppose for me, my story is about coming across this policy issue
0:09:45 > 0:09:47completely naive to the problems.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Initially it was about looking after people in detention,
0:09:52 > 0:09:54and it shifted to a policy of deterrence.
0:09:56 > 0:10:01So you go from looking after people to saying if you come here,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04we're going to make it worse for you than if you'd stayed you came from.
0:10:08 > 0:10:09The idea was to say,
0:10:09 > 0:10:14we don't want you and your families coming to Australia by boat,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17"and so we're going to make this place as horrible as possible
0:10:17 > 0:10:20to convince you to tell the people back in your countries
0:10:20 > 0:10:21not to come by boat.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28What that means for the people in offshore detention centres
0:10:28 > 0:10:32is that they're stuck there with no idea of what will happen to them.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42The threat of asylum seekers has been blown up to create
0:10:42 > 0:10:47a huge political storm around the issue, which then needs an answer,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49and the answer is to stop the boats coming.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54And you'd be naive to think that the hard-line policies
0:10:54 > 0:10:58of the Australian government have not done that.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00They have attacked the people smugglers' business model,
0:11:00 > 0:11:02as they call it, successfully,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04they've stopped the boats successfully.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06But there is a human cost to that.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Today, the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea and I are announcing
0:11:14 > 0:11:19a major initiative to combat the scourge of people smuggling.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24From now on, the asylum seeker who arrives in Austria by boat
0:11:24 > 0:11:29will have no chance of being settled in Australia as refugees.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31If they're found to be genuine refugees,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34they will be resettled in Papua New Guinea.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Australia will continue with cooperative arrangements
0:11:39 > 0:11:43on people smuggling with the Republic of Nauru and looks forward
0:11:43 > 0:11:45to furthering those arrangements in the future.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14There were daily planeloads of detainees coming in.
0:14:15 > 0:14:20Manus was to become the camp for single men.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28G4S Management approached me to go up there in a training role
0:14:28 > 0:14:31to train expert staff
0:14:31 > 0:14:35in the position of safety and security officer.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40I'd spent eight or nine years as a prison officer.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44The only people that I had experience with
0:14:44 > 0:14:45was the criminal world.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00It was not what I'd thought a detention camp would be.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18One of the worst accommodation -
0:15:18 > 0:15:22a World War II hut made of tin on a concrete floor.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29122 double bunks in this shed.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33Manus Island is tropical,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36and these guys were housed in a tin shed.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40It was disgusting.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43The odour was disgusting.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45I just couldn't believe what I was looking at.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47It was amazing.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Manus looked like a jail to me.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55The men were padlocked in behind gates.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59There was faeces, open faeces on the ground.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Men didn't have enough clothes,
0:16:04 > 0:16:06men didn't have shoes.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08They didn't have enough drinking water,
0:16:08 > 0:16:10there was malaria,
0:16:10 > 0:16:13there was sickness, disease, infection.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19The message is simple -
0:16:19 > 0:16:22if you come to Australia illegally by boat,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26there is no way you will ever make Australia home.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35The act of seeking asylum is not illegal because it's a right.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38It's a right that arises
0:16:38 > 0:16:40under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
0:16:40 > 0:16:43and it's also a right that arises under a range of
0:16:43 > 0:16:47international human rights treaties, such as the Refugees Convention.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53The Refugee Convention is one of the most humane
0:16:53 > 0:16:55international understandings on the planet.
0:16:58 > 0:17:03It's the world's apology for what was done to the Jewish people
0:17:03 > 0:17:06in the 1930s, for the doors closed in the faces
0:17:06 > 0:17:10of the Jewish people trying to flee the Holocaust.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20It was an understanding between countries that when people
0:17:20 > 0:17:23were seeking protection from persecution
0:17:23 > 0:17:27that they could cross a border, they could seek protection.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32And Australia signed up to it.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Australia said,
0:17:34 > 0:17:39look, yes, we decide who comes into this country and we decide,
0:17:39 > 0:17:43by signing this convention, that we'll let refugees come here.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47And we'll let them come as they come everywhere else in the world -
0:17:47 > 0:17:48we'll let them come by sea.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40It's quite obvious that the camps were set up to send people home.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45I know that it's not supposed to be a holiday,
0:18:45 > 0:18:47but it took about six weeks, I think,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50for them to start to degrade mentally.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41The whole concept of indefinite detention is this idea
0:19:41 > 0:19:43that there is no progress.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47If you have a criminal in Australia, you say,
0:19:47 > 0:19:51you've committed a crime, your punishment is two years in jail.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56For these men, they don't know what crime they've committed.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Under the Refugee Convention, they've got every right to
0:19:59 > 0:20:01come here and ask for protection,
0:20:01 > 0:20:03at least to have their stories heard.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10When you've got this two-year sentence as a prisoner,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12you can count down the days.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16For these men, they didn't have that.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21Day two is the same as day five, which is the same as day 100.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27Except that by day 100, you've spent 100 days in this camp with
0:20:27 > 0:20:31no idea of if you're progressing any closer to your future goal.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58On Nauru I was seeing daily self-harm.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01Up to four a day.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06There was no hope to give them.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09I'd be lying if I told them I knew and I could make their life better
0:21:09 > 0:21:11because I couldn't.
0:21:13 > 0:21:19I saw men cut their stomach open with glass,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23one man take a fluorescent light tube
0:21:23 > 0:21:25and beat himself across the head
0:21:25 > 0:21:27and stab himself.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Men suffocating themselves,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34men stitching their lips, men...
0:21:34 > 0:21:37One man stitched his eyelid.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40A lot of cutting,
0:21:40 > 0:21:44sometimes superficial, sometimes deeper.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49Swallowing Rid, swallowing washing powder,
0:21:49 > 0:21:51swallowing razor blades.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59People trying to hang themselves with rope,
0:21:59 > 0:22:01fan cords,
0:22:01 > 0:22:02knitting wool.
0:22:04 > 0:22:10They're incredibly traumatised from where they're coming from,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12what they're seeking asylum from,
0:22:12 > 0:22:17and they're being re-traumatised by their current situation.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Their families are separated
0:22:24 > 0:22:29and they see no prospect of them ever being reunited.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34They see no hope for the future.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47A young Sri Lankan man that I was working with,
0:22:47 > 0:22:48he was Tamil.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52He was about 24, 25 years old,
0:22:52 > 0:22:54so we were about the same age.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59He was living in an area in Sri Lanka,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03there was a strong presence of the Tamil Tigers.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09One day, they came to the family's house
0:23:09 > 0:23:13and they shot his father in front of him and he died.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19He and his brother decided to flee the area,
0:23:19 > 0:23:23so they left for Colombo, the capital city.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25They were caught there
0:23:25 > 0:23:31and he was kept in prison for about one year, he said.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35And he told me that he was tortured throughout the entire time.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41He was highly distressed when he was on Nauru.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46He had a lot of symptoms of severe trauma.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51He was complaining of burning all over his body all of the time
0:23:51 > 0:23:55and he had a lot of cigarette burns all over his back,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58and he said that they had burnt his genitals as well.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04The last time I saw him, he was really upset.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08He was crying.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10He said, "My life, why is this my life?
0:24:12 > 0:24:17"If tonight I'm in bed and I just slip a plastic bag over my head
0:24:17 > 0:24:19"and die, no-one would know, no-one would care."
0:24:24 > 0:24:26I had nothing to say.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28I didn't know what to say.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33INTERVIEWER: Was that kind of situation common?
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Yeah. Yeah.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41The deterioration amongst all the asylum seekers,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45no matter what their age is, is probably what's hardest to see.
0:25:47 > 0:25:52People are having...have really, um,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55severe mental health issues now, which they didn't have before.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00People are talking to themselves, people have psychotic episodes.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04Most adults will be on a range of medications.
0:26:04 > 0:26:10They'll take sleeping tablets and still won't be able to sleep,
0:26:10 > 0:26:15and they're walking around like zombies, essentially.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19And they will be on antidepressants
0:26:19 > 0:26:24and still have thoughts every day of suicide and self-harm.
0:26:27 > 0:26:33The main thing you're doing for people is keeping them alive,
0:26:33 > 0:26:38asking them not to harm themselves, asking them not to kill themselves.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Do you tell them you know things will get better?
0:26:41 > 0:26:43I tell them that, yes.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50But I don't know how and when.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53And they know I don't know that.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19By the end of my time at the department, we were fully aware
0:27:19 > 0:27:22of the impact on someone's mental health of detention.
0:27:23 > 0:27:29And so it was a lot less of a reaction to someone self harming.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32It was more seen as, well, that was inevitable.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34I found that really difficult.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37I found it difficult to work in a portfolio and in a job
0:27:37 > 0:27:40where our job was to implement a deterrence strategy
0:27:40 > 0:27:44and we knew that doing so would mean people were damaged.
0:28:20 > 0:28:21Children have to be in detention,
0:28:21 > 0:28:23according to the government's policies,
0:28:23 > 0:28:25because it's part of the deterrence.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28In detention over time,
0:28:28 > 0:28:32they develop again a range of disorders.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34It's measurable.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41They are not given opportunities to participate in normal activities
0:28:41 > 0:28:44that children require for development.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Like opportunities to play, even.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55And then they have parents who are made sick as well,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58who end up not being able to parent them.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05There are some very young babies in detention,
0:29:05 > 0:29:08who are not feeding properly, who are not gaining weight.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12Failing to thrive is the medical term.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17So all of it is really harmful for children.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23But it is considered the price that is required to stop boats.
0:29:36 > 0:29:37What's your name?
0:29:39 > 0:29:42- Who are you looking for? - INAUDIBLE
0:29:44 > 0:29:48They are growing up on white phosphate rock,
0:29:48 > 0:29:52in mouldy, damp tents
0:29:52 > 0:29:54where they have no privacy and no space.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00You can't develop age appropriately in a place like that.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07There's lots of behavioural issues.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12You see kids throwing rocks, throwing chairs,
0:30:12 > 0:30:16fighting with each other, isolating themselves.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20You see kids self-harming.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26You see kids banging their heads on walls
0:30:26 > 0:30:28and banging their heads on rocks.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46Sarah Hanson-Young, the Greens senator in Australia,
0:30:46 > 0:30:48she collected so many toys for kids.
0:30:53 > 0:30:59Finally, they approved all these toys and the toys arrived in Nauru.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01They gave the kids a little number and they said,
0:31:01 > 0:31:03"You have a surprise tomorrow."
0:31:06 > 0:31:08The kids lined up after school,
0:31:08 > 0:31:14they give them a bag and they ripped up the bag and one of the kids,
0:31:14 > 0:31:16she was Sri Lankan, she grabbed this toy
0:31:16 > 0:31:17and it was a soft toy and you know,
0:31:17 > 0:31:21after like months and months and months, she grabbed the soft toy
0:31:21 > 0:31:24in her hand and she didn't know what to do with it.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27She just like rubbed it all over her neck and face
0:31:27 > 0:31:29and she was screaming with joy
0:31:29 > 0:31:34and we - me and Save The Children - we were just behind the counter,
0:31:34 > 0:31:36we burst into tears.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39We could not believe it that after one year of being
0:31:39 > 0:31:42in the detention centre, she finally grabbed a soft toy
0:31:42 > 0:31:46and she could hold it and it was hers and then it just felt like,
0:31:46 > 0:31:48what the hell?
0:31:48 > 0:31:50Why have we kept these kids in this condition?
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Do you feel any guilt or any guilt at all
0:32:08 > 0:32:10about children being dealt with in detention?
0:32:10 > 0:32:14- None whatsoever, Neil.- There are 10-year-olds on suicide watch.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19Neil, the most compassionate thing you can do is stop the boats.
0:32:19 > 0:32:20We have stopped the boats.
0:32:30 > 0:32:31For some time now,
0:32:31 > 0:32:35there have been persistent allegations of serious physical
0:32:35 > 0:32:40and sexual abuse of children and women incarcerated in Nauru.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46After a very long time, this led to the government setting up
0:32:46 > 0:32:51an enquiry which ultimately ended up with what's called The Moss Report.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31You see sexualised behaviours amongst the kids there.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34INTERVIEWER: Like what?
0:33:34 > 0:33:37Like kids touching themselves...
0:33:39 > 0:33:42..or touching other kids in a sexualised manner.
0:33:42 > 0:33:43How old are those kids?
0:33:48 > 0:33:50They're young. They're like under five.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58Sexualised behaviours in kids of that age
0:33:58 > 0:34:00suggest that they've had exposure to...
0:34:02 > 0:34:05..sexual behaviour at an inappropriate age.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27The Nauru police force aren't trained to investigate
0:34:27 > 0:34:31or work with kids or interview kids around disclosures.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36The Nauru police force work very slowly
0:34:36 > 0:34:40and you often see no results.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46Yeah, so there's been no repercussions that I know of.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32We recognise that our border protection policy is tough.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37We recognise many would see it as harsh.
0:35:37 > 0:35:42But it has been proven to be the only way
0:35:42 > 0:35:44to stop those deaths at sea.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00The argument is that we have got a right
0:36:00 > 0:36:03to put refugees through hell,
0:36:03 > 0:36:05and their children through hell
0:36:05 > 0:36:08because it will stop people dying.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12Better that they be mashed up in Nauru and Manus Island
0:36:12 > 0:36:13than die at sea.
0:36:16 > 0:36:17And the deaths are appalling.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23But I think it is profoundly hypocritical -
0:36:23 > 0:36:27profoundly hypocritical - to claim that the policies
0:36:27 > 0:36:31that are being pursued at the moment by the Australian Government
0:36:31 > 0:36:34are fundamentally humanitarian
0:36:34 > 0:36:36because they stop these deaths.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54There was a room change one afternoon.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59One of the tranferees was outside.
0:37:01 > 0:37:02It started to rain.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08The room change had taken hours and his possessions were getting wet.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15I was standing at the door of his room.
0:37:15 > 0:37:20He walked in briskly and I wasn't afraid, I wasn't worried,
0:37:20 > 0:37:21I didn't think anything of it,
0:37:21 > 0:37:26but two expatriate New Zealand and Australian security guards
0:37:26 > 0:37:31walked over to where he was in the room and beat him against the wall,
0:37:31 > 0:37:34and twisted his back over a metal bed frame
0:37:34 > 0:37:36and punched him
0:37:36 > 0:37:37to unconsciousness.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43I went and talked to the managers and they said,
0:37:43 > 0:37:45"Don't talk about it.
0:37:45 > 0:37:46"It's not your problem."
0:37:50 > 0:37:54Eventually, I was interviewed by PNG Police.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56They shut the door behind me and they threatened me and told me
0:37:56 > 0:37:58that I should change my statement.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04They gave me all the other witness statements that were by G4S
0:38:04 > 0:38:07and Salvation Army managers who saw exactly what I saw
0:38:07 > 0:38:09and had written something completely different.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15So I changed my statement to say that G4S only pushed him.
0:38:16 > 0:38:21I didn't know what to do at that time to get out of that situation.
0:38:21 > 0:38:22I was really scared.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07Security guards, when for example,
0:39:07 > 0:39:10when asylum seekers are in the computer room, would aim
0:39:10 > 0:39:15their hands like this and pretend to shoot at the back of their heads.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18I saw guards say they were going to urinate in the drinking water
0:39:18 > 0:39:23if the asylum seekers wouldn't stop complaining about dirty water.
0:39:23 > 0:39:24They'd be racist,
0:39:24 > 0:39:27they'd call them names and tell them to go home.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33There were a group that had served in the Australian Defence Force
0:39:33 > 0:39:37in a lot of the countries that asylum seekers were actually coming
0:39:37 > 0:39:41from, so Afghanistan was probably the main one,
0:39:41 > 0:39:47and then there were a few others that had worked as bouncers,
0:39:47 > 0:39:50you know, in nightclubs on the Gold Coast and things like that.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55They were very on edge and hypervigilant.
0:39:55 > 0:39:56That was really noticeable.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11- NEWSREADER:- The large riot broke out in a processing centre on Nauru.
0:40:11 > 0:40:1415 security guards were injured as 300 detainees
0:40:14 > 0:40:16broke out of the facility.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44- NEWSREADER:- More than 100 asylum seekers have been transferred
0:41:44 > 0:41:46into police custody after the violence
0:41:46 > 0:41:48which caused 60 million damage.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20- NEWSREADER:- For two nights running,
0:42:20 > 0:42:23there has been chaos and disorder on Manus Island.
0:42:23 > 0:42:28The government says last night's unrest began with demonstrations.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30We have very strong suggestions from refugee advocates
0:42:30 > 0:42:33that this was an attack from outside.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35The detainees inside were attacked
0:42:35 > 0:42:38by PNG Police is the assertion and also angry locals
0:42:38 > 0:42:42with machetes and other weapons and that maybe even someone was shot.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11The veil of secrecy over the Manus Island Detention Centre
0:46:11 > 0:46:14was partially lifted today with a report released by the government
0:46:14 > 0:46:17into the February riots at the PNG centre.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20Immigration Minister Scott Morrison joins us.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22When you read the account of Reza Barati's death,
0:46:22 > 0:46:24it's very detailed.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26His skull was shattered, he was beaten with sticks
0:46:26 > 0:46:30and kicked in the head by more than ten officers - Australians and locals.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33Did you have even a moment of doubt about the morality
0:46:33 > 0:46:35of offshore detention centres?
0:46:35 > 0:46:38What occurred that night was criminal.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41There was a terrible, tragic and distressing incident
0:46:41 > 0:46:44that took place that night, as you said in your introduction.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40- NEWSREADER:- A 24-year-old Iranian asylum seeker has died
0:48:40 > 0:48:44in a Brisbane hospital tonight after his family agreed to have his
0:48:44 > 0:48:46life-support machine switched off.
0:48:49 > 0:48:53Hamid Khazaei was pronounced brain-dead earlier this week
0:48:53 > 0:48:57after reportedly suffering blood poisoning from an infected foot.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01The asylum seeker was flown from Manus Island to Brisbane last week.
0:49:01 > 0:49:03Scott Morrison says the Immigration Department
0:49:03 > 0:49:06will review the medical treatment he received.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09- SCOTT MORRISON:- I have asked to review the medical treatment...
0:49:13 > 0:49:16Myself and two of my colleagues wrote explicitly
0:49:16 > 0:49:18about medical concerns.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22In particular, infections starting in the feet.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27Then, a couple of months later, Hamid Khazaei still died
0:49:27 > 0:49:29of an infection starting in his foot
0:49:29 > 0:49:32and we had already told them months before and that is documented -
0:49:32 > 0:49:35date, time and everything, what we had said is transcribed.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41We had a Senate enquiry into the death of Reza Barati
0:49:41 > 0:49:44and I don't see anything changing.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46We are telling the people what's happening there
0:49:46 > 0:49:47and nothing's changing.
0:49:57 > 0:50:01- NEWSREADER:- Australia is now in a refugee partnership with Cambodia.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05In Phnom Penh, the deals are being done.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09Australia has provided a 40 million down payment and additional aid.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14Refugees from Nauru will be voluntarily sent here
0:50:14 > 0:50:16in the months ahead.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22Those who do come will be moving to one of Southeast Asia's
0:50:22 > 0:50:24poorest nations,
0:50:24 > 0:50:27where the average wage is less than 100 a month.
0:50:45 > 0:50:50The current options for refugees on Nauru are either to live in
0:50:50 > 0:50:52the community there, temporarily,
0:50:52 > 0:50:57to go to Cambodia or to return home to the real prospect of persecution.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04- NEWSREADER:- The Nauruan government has declared that the detention centre
0:51:04 > 0:51:08will become an open centre, 24 hours per day, seven days per week,
0:51:08 > 0:51:10from today.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13It says all asylum seekers are now free to move around the island
0:51:13 > 0:51:14at their will.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17Can the Australian government guarantee the safety of these people
0:51:17 > 0:51:19as they are released into the Nauruan communities?
0:51:19 > 0:51:24Particularly given that women and children... 67 allegations
0:51:24 > 0:51:28of child abuse, 33 claims of rape and sexual assault on Nauru?
0:51:28 > 0:51:32Can the Australian government guarantee these people's safety?
0:51:32 > 0:51:34Emma, the Australian government, the Queensland
0:51:34 > 0:51:37or New South Wales, Victorian government, can't provide you with
0:51:37 > 0:51:40that guarantee for people coming out into the Australian society.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48People are returning home more now than they ever were.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55Returning to their country of origin and then attempting to seek asylum
0:51:55 > 0:51:58again in a different country.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00Nothing has changed for them in their home countries,
0:52:00 > 0:52:05often they'll state that they are returning to extreme danger.
0:52:05 > 0:52:09It is really hard to hear that they feel that is their only option.
0:52:21 > 0:52:25Operational-wise, everything I was trying to bring
0:52:25 > 0:52:29to the attention of management, nothing was being done about it.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33I got to a personal level of, this has got to stop and I can't stop it.
0:52:35 > 0:52:42I found a handwritten note by my bed suggesting that I should shut up
0:52:42 > 0:52:44or some harm would come to myself.
0:52:46 > 0:52:53And then I received a message that I continued on,
0:52:53 > 0:52:59the great possibility that I would be found floating alongside
0:52:59 > 0:53:00the HMS Choules at some stage.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07That scared the shit out of me, it really did
0:53:07 > 0:53:09and I pulled the pin.
0:53:09 > 0:53:13I said, enough is enough. If I didn't speak out, who was going to?
0:53:16 > 0:53:18I've got a conscience
0:53:18 > 0:53:20and I was brought up the right way.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25And I don't understand how we can do this to each other.
0:53:25 > 0:53:29People need to talk up, we need to tell each other what is going on.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50I think Australians are pretty sick of being lectured to, I really
0:53:50 > 0:53:54think Australians are sick of being lectured to by the United Nations.
0:53:54 > 0:53:58Particularly, particularly given that we have stopped the boats.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21- NEWSREADER:- The Prime Minister has ruled out resettling any Rohingya
0:54:21 > 0:54:22asylum seekers in Australia,
0:54:22 > 0:54:26despite pleas from Malaysia and Indonesia for the load to be shared
0:54:26 > 0:54:28among the region.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30The United States has offered to take a lead role
0:54:30 > 0:54:31in resolving the crisis.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34We simply don't know how many people are out there
0:54:34 > 0:54:36and they are drifting at sea.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53JOURNALIST: If it was up to you now, which country would you head for?
0:54:53 > 0:54:56I think all of us in the boat now want to go to Australia.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18It was the right thing to do.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20We didn't have an option.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25The fact that we had been fighting in Vietnam
0:55:25 > 0:55:28added to the sense of obligation that I felt.
0:55:29 > 0:55:34With others, we persuaded Malaysia to establish a processing centre.
0:55:35 > 0:55:39People were processed, often quite quickly in a month or two.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43If they were coming to Australia, they were flown to Australia.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46So there was no danger of people drowning at sea
0:55:46 > 0:55:49once they had got to the processing centre in Malaysia.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55As a consequence of accepting Vietnamese refugees,
0:55:55 > 0:55:57we have a very vigorous,
0:55:57 > 0:56:01very loyal Australian-Vietnamese community,
0:56:01 > 0:56:04which adds to our culture, adds to our wealth,
0:56:04 > 0:56:08adds to the diversity of Australia
0:56:08 > 0:56:10in very productive and beneficial ways.
0:56:54 > 0:56:59Well, what we do, we stop the boats by hook or by crook,
0:56:59 > 0:57:03because that is what we have got to do and that is what we have
0:57:03 > 0:57:08successfully done and I just don't want to go into the details
0:57:08 > 0:57:09of how it is done.