Australia cannot guarantee legal protection for asylum seekers and private contractors who wish to give potentially damning evidence at the upcoming Senate inquiry into the Manus Island disturbances, the clerk of the Senate has said.



The Senate clerk, Rosemary Laing, has written to the committee, formed to investigate events on the island from 16 February – 18 February, to outline the limited protection Australia can afford to asylum seekers and contractors who may wish to give evidence.

Escalating tensions at the facility, sparked in part over processing delays, led to widespread unrest that saw dozens of asylum seekers injured and the death of an Iranian asylum seeker, Reza Barati.

Laing said in her letter the committee could not compel people on Papua New Guinea to give evidence or summon documents. She wrote that the Senate could take no action against witnesses who gave false evidence, and added the committee could also offer no protection to people who may suffer retribution for their testimony.

“Nor would the committee be able to protect witnesses outside Australia who suffered (or were threatened with) any penalty or injury in respect of evidence given, or who were subjected to any improper influence in respect of the evidence they were to give,” the letter said.

The clerk’s advice suggests the investigation into events at the island will be a difficult process. The circumstances of Barati’s death and the timeline of events during the unrest is still subject to significant uncertainty. The minister for immigration and border protection, Scott Morrison, was forced to backtrack from his earlier comments about events and concede some of the violence did occur inside the perimeter of the compound.

Laing said the committee could seek assurances from the PNG government that there would be no consequences for those who gave evidence – but she added such an undertaking would be limited, because whether it could protect them from retribution from detainees, contractors or other locals “is another question”.

The Senate can also offer no protection for breaches of confidentiality agreements that may have been entered into outside Australia’s jurisdiction, according to Laing. The private contractor G4S, which is no longer running the centre, employed a quota of local staff who were subject to PNG laws and contracts. If their contracts contain confidentially clauses the Senate inquiry will not be able to protect them from potential action against them by their employers or by the PNG government.

Laing suggested the committee “could advise that their giving evidence is entirely voluntary and that they should not say anything which they think might cause them to be penalised by any person outside Australia or any other government”.