Refugee Group Blasts Yongah Hill Detention Centre For Lack Of Control In Recent Brawl

A recent brawl at Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre in Western Australia may reveal that guards lost control. There have been a number of protests at the area.

WA Today reported that security guards at Yongah Hill Detention Centre near Northram and two detainees are said to be getting treatment for injuries stemming from a brawl at the facility on July 21, 2015.

Michelle Bui, a Refugee Rights Network spokeswoman, stated that all visits to the centre have been cancelled after the melee started at around 1:00 p.m. The incident happened after a boat allegedly transporting Vietnamese Christians was intercepted of the Dampier coast in north WA on July 20. Refugee advocates believed that the boat was an asylum seeker, carrying at least 25 to 30 individuals, including women and children. The boat was ordered to turn around by the WA Police and Australian Navy.

The Refugee Action Coalition warned that the injured Serco guards and detainees were proof that the facility staff lost control when 50 detainees made their way into an internal compound by force. The Australian Border Force (ABF) stated that several officers who responded to the scene were injured and are currently being treated by health professionals. ABC News revealed that Ian Rintoul, spokesman of the Refugee Action Coalition, said that the fight indicated that centre staff were insufficient to properly contain detainees and protect asylum seekers from violence.

“They no longer feel safe and they say very explicitly, if the Serco guards aren’t safe inside the detention centre, how on earth can they be safe? [ Serco] clearly have got no control inside the detention centre.Something much more serious needs to be done to ensure that the asylum seekers are kept safely,” Rintoul said.

Serco did not comment on the injuries sustained by the security guards. Furthermore, Serco stated that maintaining people’s safety was their top priority.

"We are supporting our staff, who acted immediately to de-escalate this incident. They do an excellent job in what can often be difficult and challenging circumstances,” Serco stated.

Peter Dutton, Immigration Minister, denied that Serco lost control over Yongah Hill Detention Centre. He said that authorities will not tolerate unruly behavior at Yongah Hill and other facilities.

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