This newspaper has argued for years that the treatment by successive Australian governments of people seeking asylum will come to be seen as one of the most shameful chapters in our history. Our resolve to advocate for the end of needlessly punitive, even inhuman, treatment of desperate and vulnerable people has been reinforced by fresh evidence of neglect and cruelty.

A report by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre – a mainly government-funded organisation that seeks to improve community access to justice, ameliorate social problems and reduce disadvantage – says there has been ‘‘routine denial’’ of antiviral treatment to people in immigration detention in Australia.

People with hepatitis C have been blocked from readily available and effective treatment of this life-threatening virus. That is a disgrace, and is utterly unworthy of a nation that claims to value fairness and decency.

The report, In Poor Health: Health Care in Australian Immigration Detention, also admonishes the federal government for dishonouring its common-law duty of care. It records ‘‘failure to properly physically and psychologically treat suicidal asylum seekers’’.

Tragically, another asylum seeker reportedly took his own life on Friday on Nauru.