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Article

7 Nov 2014

Author:
Stephen Johnson, The West Australian

Australia/Nauru: Nauru detention firm stands by its staff

The [Australian] federal government has appointed former integrity commissioner Philip Moss to head an independent inquiry into the claims, as well as sexual misconduct allegations that emerged in October. Transfield Services chairman Diane Smith-Gander says its own investigations had found no evidence of wrongdoing. "We very much stand behind the actions of our staff," she told AAP after the company's annual general meeting in Sydney on Wednesday.  ... But the Refugee Action Coalition questioned Transfield's account during a protest outside the company meeting. "We've spoken to the asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru itself," the group's co-ordinator Ian Rintoul told AAP. "It's very, very clear that there are systematic abuses happening on Nauru and it is happening under Transfield's watch." The commonwealth inquiry was sparked after News Corp Australia published what it said were internal Transfield Services documents claiming that Save the Children staff working at the centre had fabricated abuse stories and coached asylum seekers to hurt themselves.