The Salvation Army has attacked the federal government and its independent report on the Manus Island violence, maintaining the innocence of a worker accused of delivering the final blow to Reza Barati's skull.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
During the second day of a Senate inquiry into the Manus Island attack in February, the Salvation Army claimed the Papua New Guinea police had not yet contacted them, despite running the investigation into Mr Barati's death.
The inquiry also heard that another bloody attack inside the Manus Island detention centre was imminent, with G4S whistleblower Steve Kilburn warning that tensions had risen considerably.
Salvation Army chief executive officer Sharon Callister attacked the government, saying the organisation had been misrepresented by Immigration Minister Scott Morrison, and that the government's independent Robert Cornall review had reported ''selectively''.
''The way in which the Minister made reference to the event in question gave the very clear impression … that the Salvation Army staff member was found by Mr Cornall to have engaged in the assault in question,'' Ms Callister said. ''The Salvation Army is profoundly disappointed that the Minister made such comments in the absence of any clear and reliable evidence.''
The Salvation Army says the worker was trying to save asylum seekers rather than injure them.
In the lead-up to the rampant violence, there was a dangerous combination of cultural, racial and educational differences between the asylum seekers, Australian expats and the local PNG workers that contributed to a ''bubbling tension'' on the island, the inquiry has heard.
''It is almost an unmanageable situation up there and there are too many external factors at play to enable the place to be run safely and securely, regardless of who the contractor is,'' Mr Kilburn said.
''Manus Island is the wrong place to have a regional processing centre.''
