AUSTRALIA – The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection has downplayed allegations of abuse within the regional processing centre on Nauru.

In August, Guardian Australia published thousands of leaked files detailing allegations of abuse, including assaults, sexual assaults and self-harm between 2013 and 2015.

But an estimates hearing in Canberra was told that the majority of the incidents were minor, citing one report which related to a broken microwave.

Department Secretary Michael Pezzullo also used the hearing to accuse the media of prioritising publicity ahead of working with the department.

“It is regrettable that those which saw fit to publish this information seemed to be more interested in that publicity rather than actually working with independent and impartial officials to try to get to the bottom of each and every case,” he said.

According to the Immigration Department, the 2123 files were broken down as follows – 23 classified as critical; 281 as major; 968 as minor; and 851 as “information and unclassified reports”

Assistant Commissioner Kingsley Woodford-Smith of the Detention, Compliance and Removals Division said “immediate and appropriate action was taken in all cases” classified as “critical”, and in 270 of the cases considered “major”.

He said “action” included referral to the Nauruan Police Force.

His comments follow those made by representatives from the Australian Federal Police, who told the hearing that only 14 of the referred incidents had been investigated by the local police. Only one charge has been laid.

Woodford-Smith also told the hearing that more than 1800 of the complaints were about trivial matters such as “microwaves not working”.

“So they really were largely minor in nature or what a reasonable person would see as minor in nature,” he said.

Speaking on the reports in August, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said “some people do have a motivation to make a false complaint”.

“I have been made aware of some incidents that have 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,” Dutton told 2GB Radio.

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

In May, a 23-year-old Iranian died in a Brisbane hospital after self-immolating on Nauru.

A second refugee, a 21-year-old Somali woman, set herself alight the following day.

Immigration officials also detailed the ongoing costs of offshore immigration centres.

From 2012 to September 30, 2016, the Australian Government spent more than $4.3 billion on centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

And in the three months to September 30, a total of $242.23 million was spent.

- ABC