Numerous migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees in these centres were transferred by Australia to Nauru more than three years ago and have been living in very hard conditions ever since, she said.
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A spokeswoman for Australia’s Department of Immigration said the men suffered cuts and bruises and were taken to a local hospital before being returned to the detention centre.
More than 2,000 incidents, including sexual abuse, assault and attempted self-harm, were reported over two years at the Australian-funded Nauru detention centre, more than half involving children, Guardian Australia reported.
Offshore detention has bipartisan support in Australia, but doctors, lawyers and refugee advocates have strongly criticised the camps, arguing that some asylum-seekers suffer from mental health problems due to their prolonged and indefinite detention.
“Instead of smearing vulnerable refugees, the Nauru and Australian governments should be investigating human rights violations and putting an end to them”, said Amnesty International’s senior director for research, Anna Neistat.
Labour foreign affairs spokesperson David Shearer told TVNZ’s Q & A programme today that the handling of asylum seekers was tarnishing Australia’s reputation.
The reports have prompted calls for a Senate inquiry from Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, as well as a push for a royal commission from the Greens.
“They highlighted the fact that this policy is unsustainable”, Mr Shearer said.
“It’s nearly like Australia has lost its moral compass in terms of where it’s going”, he said.
“With the publication of the Nauru files I think for the first time people have understood how profoundly destructive the government’s policy is”.
New Zealand offered to assist Australia in resettling asylum seekers in 2013 and 2015, but Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ruled out co-operation amid concerns it could give encouragement and “marketing opportunities” to people smugglers.
“If people don’t want to hear about it and they don’t want to read about it then they won’t anyway, so the task for people like us is to get on the street and say to Australia: this is happening and we can’t turn our backs from it any more”, Anslow said.
It still provides around $NZ1 million in aid to the island nation.
Australia stops asylum-seeker boats from reaching its shores and denies resettlement to those arriving by sea even if they are found to be genuine refugees.
As federal Parliament prepares to resume on August 30, Labor believes terms of reference for the inquiry can include contributing factors to detention abuse, reporting mechanisms, internal investigations and the role of centre operators.
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“We need to get to the bottom of what is really going on”, he said on Sunday.
