Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. There have been allegations raised in relation to Senator Hanson-Young. I made some comments in response to that, and I made it very clear at the time that the government has been involved in no such activity. The government has not provided any direction or sanction toward any sort of spying on Senator Hanson-Young—or anybody else in this place, for that matter. There is a dispute, as I understand, between Wilson's, the contractor, and an employee. That issue remains ongoing. If there are allegations to be heard as part of the Senate inquiry, I am happy for those allegations to be investigated. But suggestions that somehow the government has been involved in some sort of spying activity are a nonsense.

The point that I make, otherwise, is that the government have been successful in relation to Operation Sovereign Borders, stopping people drowning at sea and removing children from detention, because we have had, as part of that program, regional processing centre arrangements. The regional processing centre on the sovereign territory of Nauru is, ultimately, the responsibility of the Nauruan government. Equally, it is the case in Manus that the PNG government has responsibility for the operations in the regional processing centre on Manus Island. The government provides financial support to enable those activities to take place.

I have made it very clear in the past that we expect people within the centres, both as detainees and as employees—in fact, domestically as well—will act within the law. I expect people to be treated with dignity inside the centres. If there are allegations to be made, they are to be properly investigated.

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