Government to produce Manus Island service and construction documents

7 December 2017 | Manus Island, Lorengau, detainees, order for production of documents, refugees | 7 comments

My motion, below, was successful (28 v 26 votes), which means the Government will need to produce documentation it has with its Manus Island contractors, relating to construction and the services being provided to detainees at West Lorengau Haus:

Senator Griff

I move—That the Senate—

  1. notes that:
    1. the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre was formally shutdown on 31 October 2017,
    2. more than 600 men refused to leave the centre, for reasons including fears for their safety, and were forcibly removed on 24 November 2017,
    3. the detainees were transferred to the expanded East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre and West Lorengau Haus, with non-refugees housed at Hillside Haus,
    4. from the time of the processing centre’s closure, until at least 17 November 2017, a number of media reports, photographs and eyewitness accounts indicated the accommodation at West Lorengau Haus – meant to house up to 300 men – was still incomplete, and
    5. according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and media reports, West Lorengau Haus had intermittent power and water and incomplete security fencing up to mid-November;
  2. further notes that:
    1. during supplementary Budget estimates in October 2017, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection advised that the Government’s contract with the International Health and Medical Services (IHMS) would be extended to 28 February 2018,
    2. refugee advocates have raised concerns about what appears to be a reduced level of medical and health services provided to detainees during this transition period,
    3. the Australian Medical Association has asked the Government to allow its doctors to treat detainees on the island, but its offer has been rejected by the Government, and
    4. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) has also called for access to the men in the transit centres, expressing concern the medical and psychological needs of the men are not being met; and
  3. orders that there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, by 9am on 20 December 2017:
    1. any correspondence with contractors, reports, memos or photographs relating to the progress of the construction of West Lorengau Haus accommodation, fencing and essential services, made since 1 October 2017 until 6 December 6 2017,
    2. any correspondence between the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and its contractors seeking extensions of time or budget to deliver the accommodation, security or essential services at West Lorengau Haus, or regarding difficulties in providing agreed services,
    3. the parts of any existing contract, MOU, letter of intent or agreement made with IHMS, with regard to the health and medical services to be provided to detainees, including the type of services to be provided, the specialities (such as psychiatric, general practice, counselling, etc) to be made available at each of the three facilities and the number of practitioners within each, provision of medication, hours to be worked, and the range and limits of responsibilities to be exercised by practitioners,
    4. any variations, in respect of the above paragraph, to the previous contract or agreement,
    5. the parts of any existing contract, MOU, letter of intent, memo or agreement made with Palladin, with regard to the services to be provided, the timeframes in which they are to be provided, obligations on staff, and any requirement or prohibition on using or allowing access to external service providers (such as MSF), 
    6. any variations, in respect of the above paragraph, to the previous contract or agreements,
    7. the parts of any existing contract, MOU, letter of intent, memo or agreement made with the following providers, with regard to the range and quality of services to be provided, the timeframes in which they are to be provided, any requirement or prohibition to use local subcontractors: JOA Wokman, Toll Group and NKW, and
    8. any variations, in respect of the above paragraph, to previous contracts or agreements.

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Comments

  • Trevor Jones 18/12/2017 8:55pm (6 years ago)

    Thank you Senator. I hope the truth of the harm and torture done to innocent men on Manus will be fully exposed.

  • Anthea Falkenberg 18/12/2017 10:20pm (6 years ago)

    Thank you, Senator Griff.
    These documents should throw some light onto the Manus Island situation and provide some answers to the questions that have arisen over the treatment of the men and the state of their accommodation.

  • Lynne Murphy 18/12/2017 10:41pm (6 years ago)

    Refugees in the new accommodation are to receive 100 kina a week for purchasing essentials.
    A man was at a medical appointment & could not collect the 100 kina.
    Security at the accommodation told him that because he was not there, he cannot have the allowance.
    Please advise if this is common practice.
    Also advise, if he does not receive the money, who keeps it.

  • Penelope Swales 19/12/2017 5:25am (6 years ago)

    Well done Stirling Griff. This government's policy and behaviour as regards asylum seekers in general and the people on Manus and Nauru in particular has been absolutely shameful.

  • Kerry Phillips 19/12/2017 7:11am (6 years ago)

    Hopefully this will bring out the truth.

  • Jane touzeau 19/12/2017 10:36am (6 years ago)

    Thank you. Presumably you are aware of the many and various reports by the auditor general over the years including onshore (IHMS contract) detention, and offshore (garrison and welfare contracts). A river of money is flowing under the cloak of secrecy (along with human rights abuse).

  • Niko Leka 08/01/2018 1:47pm (6 years ago)

    Very good initiative to expose the truth. Note also November statistics from further DIBP lists Zero asylum seekers for Manus. Having difficulty listing, will try again,

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