MORRISON MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR LATEST MANUS TRAGEDY

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison must be held to account for the latest tragedy on Manus Island, as 24-year-old Iranian man Hamid Kehazaei lies on life support in a Brisbane Hospital.

Mr Morrison side-stepped responsibility for the death of Reza Berati on Manus Island in February this year.

He cannot side-step responsibility for this second tragic waste of young life by claiming this is a matter for the PNG Government.  Duty of care for asylum seekers on Manus Island rests with him and his Government.

There must be a full, frank and independent inquiry into how Mr Kehazaei ended up on life support from a cut to his foot.

Mr Morrison needs to answer the following questions:

• What treatment did Mr Kehazaei receive on Manus Island and over what period of time?
• Who made the decision to keep Mr Kehazaei on Manus Island when his condition was clearly deteriorating?
• When was Mr Morrison first informed about the situation with Mr Kehazaei and was he involved in decisions about his care?
• What processes are in place to determine when someone in offshore detention is to be flown to the Australian mainland for treatment and will these be reviewed as a matter of urgency?

In November 2013, Amnesty investigated conditions on Manus Island and found the following:

• Chronic overcrowding
• Asylum seekers expected to survive on less than 500 ml of water per day, despite extremely hot and humid conditions
• Inadequate medical facilities to meet the growing demand for health services
• Requests by medical staff for basic measures to improve health and sanitation were ignored
• Insufficient supplies of soap and shampoo
• Too few showers and toilets, resulting in unhygienic conditions

It’s clear that the substandard, unhygienic conditions identified by Amnesty some 10 months ago have not been rectified.

A young man now lies on life support from a simple cut to his foot.

As we have said before, the Government cannot guarantee the health and safety of people in its offshore detention centres.  These facilities must be closed and people transferred to the Australian mainland for processing as a matter of urgency.

Serina McDuff

Acting CEO

Media Enquires: Mary Fall 0407 683 664