A former contract manager and immigration director on Nauru says he’s not surprised the Salvation Army has lost its contract to provide welfare services on Nauru and Manus Island.
The Salvation Army has today confirmed its $74 million contract to provide humanitarian services to Australia’s offshore asylum seekers will not be renewed in 2014.
It’s been caring for asylum seekers in those centres as part of a humanitarian support services contract with the Department of Immigration since 2012, providing “emotional support, humanitarian assistance and general education and recreation programs” on the islands.
Greg Lake is a Christian and worked for the Department of Immigration until earlier this year before resigning due to being unable to reconcile his faith in Jesus with the Australian Government’s treatment of asylum seekers.
He’s told Eternity the Salvation Army faced a similar conflict between their mission and the contractual requirements of the Government.
“The Salvation Army’s position to look after vulnerable people in situations like that never really did gel with the Government’s policy, which is a deterrent policy. So it’s not a surprise that this contrast and conflict came up quite a lot… it’s not a surprise that probably by mutual agreement, they pulled the pin,” he says.
Greg was the contract manager on Nauru and recalls having many conversations with the Salvation Army about whether they could fulfil the Government contract. He says it is very difficult for an NGO to come in and meet the Government’s expectations without compromising their own values.
“I don’t believe a Christian organisation can legitimately provide welfare services to Nauru or Manus as a contractor to the Government without it being at odds with Jesus’ mandate to love the vulnerable. They could be involved as a volunteer organisation on their terms, but that’s all.
“I think the more likely outcome here is that another organisation will emerge to take the place of welfare services, and it might be an organisation that has a more commercial background, because I think people will realise how burned the Salvation Army have been because of these competing expectations.”
A spokesperson from the Salvation Army’s Humanitarian Mission Services told Eternity that they are still waiting on more details from the Government, but it is understood that all services provided in the offshore processing centres will end, including chaplaincy services.
It is unknown whether the Salvo’s services will be replaced and what impact a change of service provider will mean for already strained conditions on the offshore processing centres on Nauru and Manus Island.
The spokesperson says the Salvation Army has never been restricted on voicing its concern about government policies and the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. “It’s something that, as a Christian organisation, we felt we could never agree to,” they told Eternity today.
In taking up the government contract in 2012, Salvation Army spokesperson Major Paul Moulds said the organisation remained concerned about offshore processing and Australia’s response to those seeking protection on our shores, they also felt a responsibility to “do it’s best for people who are [transferred for offshore processing]… and to help them prepare for the day when freedom finally arrives.” “We cannot remain idle while this policy is enacted,” reads a statement.
A similar feeling of responsibility prompted past and present Salvation Army staff members to write an open letter in July this year about the riots that broke out among detainees on the islands, calling them “an inevitable outcome from a cruel and degrading policy”. You can read the full letter here.
Greg doesn’t believe those who have spoken out have prompted the end of the Salvation Army’s work on Nauru and Manus, but believes it reveals the tension and internal conflict that has been plaguing the charity since taking on the work.
This week, Amnesty International released a report detailing what it calls a “host of human rights violations” on Manus Island after access was provided to the offshore processing centre for three of its workers in November this year. The report highlighted problems of overcrowding including a lack of access to drinking water, adequate toilet facilities, shelter from tropical island heat and humidity and a growing demand for basic health services that are not currently available.
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