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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Paul Karp Chief political correspondent

Serco fined for covering up use of fire extinguishers against detainees in Christmas Island riots

A CCTV image of firefighting equipment being used at the North West Point immigration detention centre on Christmas Island, managed by Serco.
A CCTV image of firefighting equipment being used at the immigration detention centre on Christmas Island, managed by Serco. Photograph: commonwealth ombudsman

The services company Serco was fined for having “concealed” the “inappropriate” use of firefighting equipment for crowd control at the Christmas Island detention centre – including on people not involved in riots.

The commonwealth ombudsman revealed two incidents that occurred in early 2022 in reports raising its concerns about “apparent pre-planned and systematic use of firefighting equipment against people held in detention”.

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