24 Mar 2015

Australian apology to sacked Nauru staff warranted

1:51 pm on 24 March 2015

Save the Children's Chief Executive says an apology to its staff members in Nauru who were sacked by the Australian government is warranted, but he isn't expecting it to happen.

Nine staff were deported from Canberra's Nauru detention centre in October after a security report claimed they had encouraged protests and self-harm as part of a wider campaign to embarrass the Australian government.

But the Moss review, ordered by a former Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to investigate the matter, found the claims had no substance.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison. Photo: AFP

But instead it confirmed cases of rape, the sexual abuse of children and the sale of drugs for sexual favours with some staff at the Nauru facilities.

Paul Ronalds says he is pleased the report exonerated the nine staff members.

"Politics is a pretty tough business and it's unusual for a politician to apologise. So we're not holding our breath on that. We're really just getting on with the day to day work of really trying to support a very vulnerable group of people."

The Australian immigration minister, Peter Dutton, says Nauru will work to address the problems raised in the report.

He says the abuse is not something that Australia would accept it's not something that the Nauruans accept in their community either.