Australia is likely to have a senate inquiry into allegations of sexual assault and child abuse in the detention centre on Nauru, after key crossbenchers said they were likely to support Labor's motion.
The Guardian Australia published more than 2,000 leaked incident reports from Nauru, detailing abuse. Photo: Copyright: andesign101 / 123RF Stock Photo
The Guardian reported Labor's motion had the support of the Greens, though the Greens' preference is for a full royal commission into the issue.
The Guardian Australia published more than 2,000 leaked incident reports from Nauru, detailing the abuse suffered by asylum seekers who are stuck on the island as a result of Australia's border protection and offshore processing policy.
Senator Nick Xenophon, who has a further two new senators in the new parliament, said he wouldn't stand in the way of a Nauru Senate inquiry, while Senators David Leyonhjelm and Derryn Hinch both suggested they would be open to it.
Mr Hinch said the reports were abhorrent, and he was not impressed with the way the issue had been handled by the Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton.
Mr Dutton has consistently defended Australia's detention regime and suggested a number of the incident reports were not "substantiated", though he suggested more than 20 of the 2,000 were "critical".
The Nauru Government has since said many of the reports have been fabricated and used by refugee activists for political purposes.
The Family First Senator Bob Day told the Guardian the Greens were exploiting the issue for political gain, while another senator, Jacqui Lambie, said she would only support the inquiry if Labor in turn supported her policies.
The Greens' immigration spokeswoman, Sarah Hanson-Young, said half of the incident reports in the documents were in relation to children and should be taken seriously.
