Book review - Offshore: Behind the Wire on Manus and Nauru

The following is a review of Madeline Gleeson's book Offshore: Behind the wire on Manus and Nauru published in the September edition of the Law Institute Journal. 

For many, the detention centres on Manus and Nauru Islands are out of sight but not out of mind. 

Many people would have made up their minds about whether they wanted to read this book before they had even opened the cover, such is the polarising nature of this issue.

Although public policy has seen the Australian public largely restricted from access to Manus and Nauru, Gleeson has made use of the material available to put together a comprehensive chronological review of the information that is on the public record. She uses “written evidence and oral testimony provided to numerous government inquiries, whistleblower accounts, videos, photographs and letters smuggled off the two islands, reports from international organisations and monitors, newspaper articles, government reports and statements and media releases”.

The material includes firsthand accounts from psychiatrists, paediatricians and other professionals, but most importantly from detainees themselves. These are distressing to read but Gleeson presents them in an open and accessible way, without sensationalising them.

As an irony the book begins with the national anthem: “For those who’ve come across the seas we’ve boundless plains to share; With courage let us all combine to Advance Australia Fair.”

Tasman Ash Fleming, Barrister, Law Institute Journal, September 2016

Purchase your copy of Offshore: Behind the wire on Manus and Nauru here.