Letters reveal Australia’s immigration minister was extensively briefed about the impact prolonged detention was having on children held on Nauru

The Guardian can reveal that the offices of senior members of the Australian government – including prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, the attorney general, George Brandis, and the immigration minister, Peter Dutton – all received an extensive dossier in May 2016 that outlined the ongoing harm to children held on Nauru and the “numerous child rights violations” that had occurred.

Save the Children to Dutton

Save the Children Australia

Office of the CEO

Paul Ronalds

7 August 2015



Hon Peter Dutton MP

Minister for Immigration

Parliament House



Dear Minister



I appreciate you making the time available to meet with me on Wednesday 12 August 2015 and write now to advise of three key matters which I hope to have the opportunity to discuss with you.



1. Data review – impact of detention on the welfare of children in Nauru RPC



SCA has undertaken a review of all the data that we hold in relation to the welfare of children in the Nauru RPC. The data review is a rigorous analysis of all of the incident reports and casework reviews which SCA has on record in relation to the 281 children who have been held in Nauru. It provides an evidence based case study to inform discussions about the impact that detention has on the welfare of children. A copy of the data review is attached for discussion at the meeting. We are obviously treating this material with the utmost confidentiality.



2. Child Safeguarding and Early Childhood Services on Nauru



Irrespective of the outcome of the current tender process, i would like to discuss with you opportunities for SCA to provide a broader suite of development programs on Nauru for asylum seekers, refugees and the Nauruan community. Such programs would respond to the significant unmet need that exists in Nauru in areas like child safeguarding and early childhood education.



3. Regional Engagement



We are keen to discuss the Government’s current thinking on a regional solution, including building capacity in transit countries for timely refugee status determination, investment in improving access to basic services, and genuine cooperation across the region to share resettlement of UNHCR identified refugees.



I would also like to take this opportunity to note how much we appreciate the dialogue with your office in relation to a range of matters, including asylum seeker welfare and family reunion issues.



I look forward to meeting with you next week.



Yours sincerely,



Paul Ronalds

Chief Executive Officer



Dutton to Save the Children

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION



Ref No: MC15-219710



Mr Paul Ronalds

Chief Executive Officer

Save the Children Australia

Dear Mr Ronalds

Thank you for your letter of 7 August 2015 concerning the welfare of children in Nauru, and regional engagement more broadly. I appreciate the time you have taken to bring these matters to my attention and for our recent meeting.



I acknowledge Save the Children Australia’s (SCA) desire to support the welfare of children and families accommodated at the Nauru Regional Processing Centre (RPC).

With respect to the review of data held by SCA in relation to the welfare of children at the Nauru RPC, I reiterate that I take matters of child protection very seriously and the Department of immigration and Border Protection shares this attitude.



The implementation of recommendations arising from the Moss Review has resulted in improvements to centre security and care for children and vulnerable persons in the Nauru RPC. The Department is working closely with the Government of Nauru to assist with the development and implementation of a child protection framework in Nauru. A Child Protection Panel was also established in May 2015 to identify where management of incidents in detention can be strengthened to better address any allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation made in relation to a child.



With regard to any potential opportunities for SCA to provide community development programmes on Nauru, raising these with the GoN is a matter for SCA.

I also note that child protection within the Nauruan community, other than that of transferee children in the RPC, is a matter for the GoN.

The integration of transferee children into local Nauruan schools is being undertaken in the best interests of the children and in support of their access to formal education opportunities. This includes integrating transferee children into early childhood education programmes conducted by the GoN.

With regard to our discussion on regional engagement, note that the Australian

Government is committed to combatting people smuggling and trafficking of persons in the region and continues to work with regional partners through the Bali Process to identify engagement and capacity building opportunities. This forum has been very productive in building capacity to manage illegal migration throughout the region.

The Governments of Australia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Nauru and Cambodia are committed to addressing people smuggling and illegal migration. Australia’s regional processing and settlement policy has been pivotal in addressing this issue. Australia has also provided valuable capacity building to Nauru, PNG and Cambodia to tackle this issue and will continue this work.

Thank you for raising these matters.

Yours sincerely

PETER DUTTON 16/9/15

Save the Children to Turnbull: the same letter was sent to Dutton and Brandis

Save the Children Australia



3 May 2016



The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP

Prime Minister



Dear Prime Minister,



Save the Children Report on Child Asylum Seekers in Nauru



As you are aware, Save the Children Australia was appointed by the Australian Government to provide a range of services to asylum seekers and refugees in Nauru during the period August 2013 to October 2015. In the course of providing these services to relevant individuals, our staff gathered data concerning the background and experiences of individual children, adults and families residing in the Regional Processing Centre and developed well-informed impressions in relation to the operation of Australia’s regional processing system in Nauru.

Save the Children acknowledges that there are no easy solutions in balancing the need to act compassionately and humanely towards people fleeing persecution, while also developing effective policy responses to the increasing migration and refugee flows in the region. However, the challenges inherent in developing sound policies in this area are significantly compounded by laws and measures which impede transparency in relation to assessing the human cost of Australia’s current approach to asylum seekers who arrive by boat.



Accordingly, as the primary rights-based organisation working with asylum seekers and refugees in Nauru from 2013 to 2015, we consider it incumbent upon us to reflect and report on areas where the data that our staff collected, and the observations that they made, indicate that the rights of child asylum seekers may have been violated. In that sense, we seek to provide a snapshot (that goes beyond anecdotal reports) of some of the human consequences of Australia’s policies in relation to asylum seekers who arrive by boat, and prompt consideration of whether such costs justify the perceived benefits.

Using the evidence gathered through data analysis, staff observations and other credible sources, the enclosed report on ‘Child Asylum Seekers in Nauru’ identifies significant and numerous child rights violations in this context. Children were, among other things, detained for extraordinary periods of time, disproportionately negatively affected by the experience of detention, frequently exposed to harm, violence and abuse, and were often separated from their parents.



The contents of this report ultimately support the position that when viewed through the lens of the experience of child asylum seekers, Australia’s unyielding policies in relation to the treatment of asylum seekers who arrive by boat are not appropriate in their current form.



Recognising existing policy objectives, this report makes a number of core recommendations to the Australian Government which entail ensuring that:



child asylum seekers and their families are not transferred to, or forced to remain, in locations whether they are at serious risk of harm;



the transfer and treatment of child asylum seekers and their families is subject to ongoing independent and transparent human rights monitoring; and



individuals who have experienced human rights abuses in this context have access to an effective remedy.



We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this report and its recommendations with you and your staff. Please contact [REDACTED], Head of Policy and Advocacy, at [REDACTED] if you have any queries or would like to arrange a meeting. Please note that have written in similar terms to the Attorney General and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection.



Yours sincerely,



Mat Tinkler

Director of Policy and Public Affairs

Save the Children Australia



Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to Save the Children

Australian Government



Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet



Reference: MGM-050518

Mr Mat Tinkler

Director, Save the Children Australia



Dear Mr Tinkler



Thank you for your letter dated 3 May 2016 to the Prime Minister, the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP, regarding conditions at regional processing centres. I have been asked to reply on the Prime Minister’s behalf.



Your letter has been referred to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon. Peter Dutton, who has portfolio responsibility for this issue.



Once again, thank you for your letter.



Yours sincerely



Senior Adviser



Department of Immigration and Border Protection to Save the Children

Australian Government



Department of Immigration and Border Protection



Ref No: MC16-0011728



Mr Mat Tinkler

Director of Policy and Public Affairs

Save the Children Australia



Dear Mr Tinkler



Thank you for your letter of 3 May 2016 to the Minister of Immigration and Border Protection. the Hon Peter Dutton MP, on behalf of the Save the Children concerning arrangements for transferees, particularly children, in Nauru. As the Australian Government is currently in caretaker mode due to the upcoming Federal election, I have been asked to reply on the Minister’s behalf.



The Department of Immigration and Border Protection appreciates the report attached to your letter, Child Asylum Seekers in Nauru of 3 May 2016, regarding the provision of services to children transferred to Nauru for processing and resettlement. It also notes the recommendations that have been made.

As you would be aware, the Australian Government remains committed to the regional processing and settlement arrangements in place in Nauru. The Department continues to work with the Government of Nauru to support the implementation and management of these arrangements. This includes contracting service providers to deliver services to support transferees in the regional processing centre, as well as refugees living in the Nauruan community. The Government of Australia is working closely with the Government of Nauru to build its capacity and ability to manage child protection matters. Significant investment has been made by Australia to improve the Nauruan education and health systems.

The Australian Parliament has scrutinised the operations of the Nauru regional processing arrangements on a number of occasions and continues to do so. A number of independent organisations, including the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the International Committee of the Red Cross, conduct regular monitoring visits. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees also recently visited Nauru and will report to the Governments of Nauru and Australia on its findings.

Thank you for bringing the concerns of Save the Children to the Minister’s attention.



Yours sincerely



Acting Commander

Regional Processing and Settlement Branch

9 May 2016

