Federal Labor is pushing for a parliamentary inquiry into reports of abuse within the Nauru detention centre.
Labor has called for a senate inquiry when parliament returns later this month after the Guardian published more than 2,000 leaked incident reports, documenting cases of abuse and self-harm on Nauru, last week.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten told Sky News that he hopes the government can see the need for a parliamentary inquiry.
"But no one of good heart and conscience can support indefinite detention on Nauru. Labor has proposed an independent child advocate, I don't know why the government just doesn't do that," he said.
"Secondly with all of these leaked files, while the government dismisses some of them, if even part of the report is true, even part of, that should be explained by the government and we are proposing a senate inquiry."
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But the Coalition government has rejected the calls and says the cases are being appropriately investigated by the Department of Immigration.
It comes after Immigration Minister Peter Dutton last week dismissed some reports of abuse as false allegations made by asylum seekers as a way to get into Australia.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told Sky News that many of the allegations are "historical", and have already been investigated.
"There are very strict processes and procedures within the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, and indeed the offshore protection framework to deal with any allegations of abuse of this sort of nature. And appropriate action is always taken."
Meanwhile, the Greens party has repeated its call for an immediate end to offshore detention. Greens leader Richard Di Natale told Sky News says there are large costs associated with offshore detention.
"At the heart of it this is a system that is wrong. It's morally wrong. It's legally wrong. And it's wrong in terms of the huge costs associated with it that could be invested in treating people more humanely and that's what we'd like to see - those centres closed."
More than half of the two-thousand leaked documents describe various allegations of abuse involving children.Human rights advocates are calling for those cases to be investigated by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Executive director of the Human Rights Law Centre, Hugh de Kretser, told SBS the nature of offshore detention means it's important that the Nauru detention centre is examined.
"Because foreign journalists aren't allowed. Because it is out of sight, out of reach of Australian laws and Australian institutions. That is why it is absolutely critical that Royal Commission look at this. And if the Royal Commission won't look at this then the Australian government has to act. The first thing they need to do is bring these people to safety. Secondly, we need a properly resourced and mandated and expert inquiry so that this kind of harm never happens again."
In Sydney, demonstrators protested against the offshore detention of asylum seekers.
Speaking to SBS, Sabia Claridge, one of the organisers of the protest, says while she supports calls for the cases to be investigated by the Royal Commission, she doesn't think it's necessary.
"I would definitely, but I would also say that right now we already know. We don't need yet another inquiry. Yes let's have another inquiry, but let's not make that the only step we take. Let's get them off that island right now, take them here. They cannot bear another day," she said.
