Lady concerned about Nauru rape of women calls Turnbull's office - told to call Lifeline

Sarah Smith at Malcolm Turnbull's house

A Sarah Smith (pictured) has tried constantly to get answers to her concerns about friends she has in the Nauru detention centre being molested, even to the point of visiting prime minister Turnbull's house.

The other day she rang Turnbull's office about her concerns for her friends. She was told to call suicide prevention organisation Lifeline.

'Malcolm Turnbull's office has stated they can't do anything further about my friends on Nauru who are getting molested, strip searched and raped. They suggested I call Lifeline to resolve my issues with this. Please make this go viral. Ask Lifeline how to deal with this. Use hashtag ‪#‎asklifeline.' 

I explained, unemotionally, that women and children are being molested and raped without any room for recourse. She explained, with equal and appalling lack of emotion, that I should call Lifeline. I explained that, “I'm fine. They aren't. I just want my friends to stop being sexually abused.” Melissa replied that they couldn't help me. 

These are people who I video call with. People whose highs and lows I've shared, as they have shared mine. People who tell their native bedtime stories to my daughter, and whose family photos they have shared with me. I'm watching these people being molested, raped and tortured. And Malcolm Turnbull's staffer, Melissa, suggested I should call Lifeline. Because whenever someone is harmed, I vomit uncontrollably … [and] for some reason, they suggest this is unreasonable. 

Sarah’s friend Lanz Priestley was sitting next to her when she spoke to ‘Melissa in [the Prime Minister’s] communications division’. With Sarah’s phone turned up to full, Mr Priestley said both sides of this remarkable conversation were ‘clearly audible’. He vouched wholeheartedly for the veracity of Sarah’s account. Independent Australia