Mr Dutton told Macquarie Radio those behind the disturbance could face criminal charges, and branded them “some of the country’s worst criminals”.
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He said the government would also be looking closely at private security contractor Serco and what had caused the riot after the death of Iranian Kurd asylum seeker Fazel Chegeni.
The prisoners are known as “501s”, after section 501, the law that forces them out of Australia because of previous criminal convictions.
Australia’s immigration minister has defended housing asylum seekers with “serious criminals” at a detention centre on Christmas Island.
A few common areas appear to be severely damaged, it added, but said order was restored “largely through negotiation and co-operation with detainees”.
Whakatutu said police, whose numbers were bolstered by two plane loads of reinforcements from the mainland, had warned detainees they would be shot if officers encountered armed resistance.
Seven men – five New Zealanders, a Tongan and an Afghan – involved in the unrest were transferred to a Perth prison overnight and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has indicated more detainees could be moved.
A New Zealand politician, Kelvin Davis, recently visited the island and said New Zealanders who were held at the facility had told him that detainees had taken over the centre.
Australian police have retaken control of an offshore detention camp holding asylum seekers after clashing with prisoners protesting the death of a Kurdish refugee who attempted to escape.
Though the circumstances surrounding his death were deemed non-suspicious by Dutton, protests spread among the detainees.
The cause of Mr Chegeni death is still under investigation.
“This is an issue that our Government ought to be contacting relevant counterparts in Australia about, and saying what is happening there illustrates the very problem”.
Many detainees on Christmas Island are from neighboring New Zealand and are awaiting appeals after having been convicted of crimes.
A major riot has broken out at a remote detention centre for asylum-seekers in the Indian Ocean.
‘We need to know that appropriate security is in place at the centre and staff are adequately trained to deal with detainees, including those that have had visas cancelled, ‘ he said on Wednesday.
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Under controversial policies, Australia sends all intercepted asylum seekers to Christmas Island as well as Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and Nauru in the South Pacific.
