A 24 year-old has been killed in Australias Manus Island detention camp. Other accounts tell of horrific violence; people being pulled from under beds and hiding places only to be assaulted. But whats more – that may be just scratching the surface. The government has banned journalist access to the Manus Island detention centre, meaning were left with few independent accounts. Verifying fact from fiction is becoming near-impossible, especially now that asylum seekers internet access has been cut. Government accounts directly contradict first-hand reports coming out of Manus Island, and journalists are being barred from entering detention and having their photos deleted. This secrecy and lack of information from the Immigration Department is terrifying. Not only because of how shocking the first-hand accounts coming out of our detention centres are – but because, above all I thought our government would always respect transparency & honesty. A free press, with the ability to scrutinise the activities of our government is a fundamental aspect of Australian democracy. Tony Abbott himself said as much this morning: I do want to make this point and make it very strongly: a free press is in everyone’s interests. If Tony Abbott truly believes a free press is important, he needs to end the banning of journalists from these Australian facilities immediately. Last night I spoke to people over on Nauru and Manus Island. Its tense, and getting worse. Theres widespread confusion and concern. And they dont know that the world will know if tragedy strikes again. Minister Scott Morrison is under enormous public pressure after a series of incidents inside detention centres and concerning data breaches. Now is the time the Australian public must demand basic transparency from our government. Scott Morrison, immediately allow journalists full access to report the facts on Manus Island detention centre.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 09:22:41 +0000
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