The director of the Pasifika Centre at Massey University, Malakai Koloamatangi, said new curbs on free speech were just the latest in a series of draconian legal steps Nauru had taken. Dr Koloamatangi said in the absence of criticism from Australia, whose offshore detainees are held on Nauru, New Zealand, the Forum and the UN Read more
Australia spent £29 million on a deal with Cambodia to accept its refugees but the scheme has been labelled an “expensive joke” after just two people took up the offer to relocate. The four-year deal, signed in 2014, was designed to resettle hundreds of refugees who have been transferred by Australia to the tiny Pacific Read more
Australia’s Immigration Department has established a Child Protection Panel to provide independent advice on child protection at the country’s asylum seeker detention centres — including the one on Nauru. It says four Australian Federal Police officers will also travel to Nauru to advise local police. Both developments are part of the government’s response to the Read more
New Zealand cannot stand aloof from involvement in the Middle East when so many people are suffering and dying says Archbishop John Dew, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference. He has written to Prime Minister John Key, offering the support of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops for the cautious and measured approach to making Read more
Work is underway in Papua New Guinea to come up with recommendations for the government on the best way to re-settle refugees, currently in detention at Manus Island. It will spend the next few weeks consulting non-government organisations, businesses and other community groups. The panel’s deputy chair is the Archbishop of Port Moresby John Ribat. Read more
Radio Australia reports that the processing of asylum seekers sent to Nauru by the Australian government “may be six months or more away yet”. This is according to a spokesperson for Australia’s Immigration Minister. Major Paul Moulds, of the Salvation Army, is quoted as saying that the uncertainty is having a detrimental effect on the Read more