The government of Nauru has responded angrily to last night’s Four Corners, which detailed the experiences and mental health problems of children detained on the island nation. The press release labelled the episode “biased political propaganda and lies, and was an insult to the people of Nauru”. Strangely, the press release repeatedly said that the ABC had not filmed or covered particular parts of Nauru’s education and hospital facilities, saying that the program had not been to Nauru:

“The program showed incorrect pictures of schools in a deliberate attempt to misrepresent the facts, while not mentioning the educational facilities across Nauru that are similar to Australian schools, not speaking to any Nauruan educators or principals, and not showing the new school that was recently completed. It also missed the point that if Nauruan schools are good enough for our children, why are they not for refugee children?

“In the same way the program showed the old Nauru hospital which is no longer in operation, and failed to mention the new $27 million state of the art medical facility to which refugees have unrestricted and free access.”

The press release failed to mention that it costs $8000 just to apply for a journalist visa, which is not refunded if the application is rejected. In the past two years the only journalists to have their applications approved are The Australian‘s Chris Kenny and journos from A Current Affair. Would the Nauruan government have approved visa applications from Four Corners?