Peter Dutton rejects claims NZ nationals ‘starved’ at detention centre

Peter Dutton has rejected claims from a New Zealand MP his countrymen are being beaten at the Christmas Island detention centre.

The Christmas Island Detention Centre,

Immigration minister Peter Dutton has rejected claims from a New Zealand MP that his countrymen are being beaten and starved at the Christmas Island detention centre.

NZ opposition MP Kelvin Davis went to the island to see the treatment of NZ citizens awaiting deportation. Since Australia’s deportation laws were strengthened last December, the Christmas Island detention centre has transformed into a holding prison for criminals who have served their time and are now being sent home. Many of them are NZ nationals who have objected to their removal from Australia through court appeals.

“These people are being locked up, they’re being beaten up and they’re being starved,” Mr Davis said.

“The conditions are tantamount to torture and it’s happening in Australia, a country we say is our closest ally.” Mr Davis says the offences committed by detainees he met were at the lower end of the scale.

A spokesman for Mr Dutton rejected Mr Davis’ allegations.

“Such claims bear no relation to reality. They are false and the Government strongly refutes them,” he said.

“It is through their criminal actions that each detainee is responsible for their detention in the first place and it is their decision to remain in ongoing detention in Australia.

“They have lost any claim to remain in Australian society and are free to go to their country of origin at any time.”

The detention centre on Christmas Island was frequently volatile when it was used only as a place to hold asylum seekers who arrived by boat; rioting and assaults were not rare. Residents of the island have told The Australian the new inmates — many of them violent criminals — have brought a new element of danger to the centre.

“They probably are being beaten but by each other,” said one resident.

Mr Davis was on the island for about a week last month and spent time listening to locals at the pub. He initially was not allowed inside the detention centre but The Australian has been told that on the day before he was due to fly home, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection gave him a tour of the facility for about one hour.

A spokesman for Mr Dutton insisted the detainees had enough to eat and proper healthcare. He indicated there were consequences for detainees’ poor behaviour.

“Ensuring the health and welfare needs of detainees in immigration detention is fundamental to maintaining good order,” the spokesman said.

“Healthcare and food is provided to standards comparable to those in the general community.

“Detainees are treated with respect, but equally actions which put anyone at harm will not tolerated.”