Allegations of serious incidents that were not gaining “sufficient traction” at the Nauru detention centre were escalated by the Save the Children chief executive, Paul Ronalds, to the Australian immigration minister and department.
A Senate inquiry is examining allegations of sexual assaults and poor conditions at the centre.
Earlier on Tuesday, senior executives at Transfield Services, the Australian company running the detention centre on Nauru, had been unable to answer basic questions about its operations on the island and allegations of sexual assault, and may face being recalled to the inquiry.
Save the Children, which provides welfare services to asylum seekers on Nauru, sent Ronalds and its head of Nauru programs, Lee Gordon, to speak to the inquiry.
A key line of questioning pursued throughout the hearing involved determining when different parties – including contracted service providers, the immigration department and successive immigration ministers – became aware of different allegations of sexual assault and other incidents, and what measures were taken to respond to them.
Ronalds told the inquiry he had made the immigration minister and secretary of the department aware of some serious allegations.
“When serious incidents occur, as CEO of the organisation, I would be made aware,” he said. “Beyond that it might be escalated to Lee and working with department officials here in Canberra … and in some cases it would raised by me with the minister or the secretary.
“There have been situations that we have wanted to bring to the notice of the secretary or minister that we didn’t think was getting sufficient traction.”
The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young asked about the alleged sexual assault of a young asylum seeker by a cleaner in November 2013, and how that would be handled.
“That’s a critical incident and it would be verbally reported to control,” Ronalds said. “The Save the Children employee would then follow up with a written report. That would normally be co-signed by a Save the Children manager to ensure it was of an appropriate standard.
“In the example you have provided, because it involves a child, Save the Children would take the lead in conducting an assessment. We would talk to the alleged victim … We would start liaising with the Nauru police.”
Gordon and Ronalds were also asked about the circumstances of the dismissal of a number of Save the Children staff from Nauru in October. The workers were removed by the department with minimal consultation with Save the Children.
Ronalds said Save the Children became aware of the allegations through a report in the Daily Telegraph that referred to an unknown Wilson Security “intelligence report”.
He said the process was at odds with a previous investigation, where five staff were stood down while an investigation occurred, and were then reinstated in consultation with Save the Children.
A review by a former integrity commissioner, Philip Moss, into the allegations at the centre exonerated the staff, and suggested the department review the decision to dismiss them. The report was critical of the value of the evidence in the Wilson Security intelligence report.
Ronalds said: “Reading through the Moss report findings … the actual chain of events I would describe as more akin to Chinese whispers than any serious evidence-gathering exercise.
“There was no degree of procedural fairness involved at all ... Our staff didn’t have a chance to answers those allegations or anything like that.”
Later he was asked by the Labor senator Kim Carr whether the department should have apologised for the handling of the staff.
“Certainly I think that when allegations like this are made without any substantiation an apology is warranted,” Ronalds said. “That said, we’re getting on with looking after the children and families in our care.”
The immigration department was set to appear before the inquiry on Tuesday but will now give evidence on a later date.
Hanson-Young said later, “The evidence today has raised serious questions about the extent of knowledge the department and the minister knew of women and children being abused, assaulted and exploited. A seedy and toxic environment has been unveiled and its clear the government has been trying hard to cover it up.
“Today’s inquiry and the lack of any detailed evidence from Transfield and Wilsons Security proves beyond doubt the need for continued pressure to be placed upon those involved in the running of the Nauru detention camp.”
