Peter Dutton dismisses revelations and accuses asylum seekers of making false claims of sexual assault

Australia’s immigration minister, Peter Dutton, has accused asylum seekers of setting themselves on fire, deliberately self-harming, or making false allegations of sexual assault in order to come to Australia.

On Thursday Dutton dismissed the revelations contained in the Nauru files published by the Guardian, which contain graphic reports of sexual assault, child abuse and self-harm written by detention centre staff and said: “Most of that’s been reported on before.”

He said: “I won’t tolerate any sexual abuse whatsoever. But I have been made aware of some incidents that have been reported, false allegations of sexual assault, because in the end people have paid money to people smugglers and they want to come to our country.

“Some people have even gone to the extent of self-harming and people have self-immolated in an effort to get to Australia, and certainly some have made false allegations in an attempt to get to Australia.”

Dutton’s comments were the first he has made since the Guardian’s publication of more than 2,000 leaked incident reports from the Nauru detention centre.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said Dutton’s comments were abhorrent.

“Comments by minister Dutton this morning that incidents involving child sexual abuse may be fabricated are abhorrent. To attack a child for telling an adult – someone they should trust – that they’ve been abused is unthinkable.
“It is unacceptable for the Turnbull government to continue to send people to an island prison in which we know children are experiencing abuse and violence.”