A senior government senator has continued to attack Gillian Triggs over the Human Rights Commission's report on children in immigration detention despite admitting he had not read the report.

Senator Ian Macdonald raised the report during the meeting of government MPs yesterday, describing it as "unnecessary, irrelevant and inaccurate" and "not worth the paper it was written on".

Senator Ian Macdonald. Credit:Andrew Meares

During questioning on Professor Triggs before a Senate committee last week, Senator Macdonald boasted that he had not read the report. He later issued a statement claiming he read an an addendum that confirmed his decision "not to waste my time on a report which was clearly partisan".

His comments came as the Senate passed a motion commending the commission and its president, Professor Triggs, on the report and noting that allegations of abuse of children in detention had been referred to police for action.