Forum discusses corruption and inhumanity in offshore detention regime

The Refugee Action Collective Victoria (RAC) held a public forum in Naarm/Melbourne on October 26 to discuss the Anthony Albanese government’s policy of sending refugees to detention centres on remote islands.

Despite Albanese’s promise to end the offshore detention regime, about 100 refugees are currently held on Naoero (formerly Nauru). Previously refugees had been sent to Manus Island in Papua New Guinea (PNG), before its Supreme Court ruled this illegal. 

Keynote speaker Nik Feik, an investigative journalist who has uncovered details about the offshore detention regime, said the system was corrupt. He said contractors receive hundreds of millions of dollars to run these centres, yet the refugees do not receive sufficient food and other supplies. “Where does the money go?”, he asked. 

Feik said aircraft safety problems, audit reports and money handling processes had been ignored. 

He raised concerns about Nauru Airlines, which owns seven Boeing 737 planes paid for by Australia. Naoero has a population of 12,000 and receives only 200 visitors each year. He said the planes had been used to take the families of political leaders on holidays. 

Australia is committed to paying Naeoro $2.3 billion over 20 years in return for holding refugees and others deported from Australia. 

Kieran Magee from RAC said corruption damages Naoeroan society. He said the money goes to wealthy elites, not ordinary people and distorts the economy.

Atena Kashani, an Iranian refugee, spoke about her experiences arriving by boat as a nine-year-old after her family fled Iran due to fear of persecution.

She was detained on Christmas Island, and then at Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation detention centre in Naarm. She said detention felt "cruel" and that it was "horrible" to see guards with guns.

Eventually the family was allowed out of detention. Their work and study rights were granted and withdrawn, before being restored. Her family now has permanent residency.

Kashani has friends who were on Naoero. Some are still there. One man set himself on fire as a protest.

She said some refugees living in Australia have been threatened with being sent back to Nauru. They have also been pressured to return to Iran.

Magee said that up to 70,000 people are at risk of being deported. He urged people to get involved in campaigns for refugee rights.

He pointed to past victories, including the campaign to get children off Naoero. He pointed to the 100 day protest in which refugees on temporary visas camped outside the Department of Home Affairs and immigration ministers’ offices demanding permanent visas. Many have since been granted permanent residence. 

[Chris Slee is a member of the Refugee Action Collective Victoria.]