An Amnesty International Australia researcher says major changes are needed immediately at the Australian run detention camp for asylum seekers on Nauru. Alex Pagliaro was one of two researchers who last week visited the camp where 387 male asylum seekers are crammed into leaky tents in a very hot environment. She says it is a 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
Papua New Guinea would favourably consider reopening an asylum seekers’ processing centre if asked by Australia according to Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. And in Nauru, the office of Dominic Tabuna, the Minister for Commerce, Industry and Environment, issued a statement saying that while Nauru stands ready to assist the Australian government, Nauru had “no say” Read more
Pressure is growing on Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott to put politics aside and sort out the border protection mess. On Thursday The Australian reported Immigration Minister Chris Bowen has been given the authority to put the Nauru detention centre on the table in talks with the Opposition aimed at ending the stand-off over offshore Read more
The government of Nauru has indicated there will be no change in its support of the Coalition’s plan to reopen the Howard-era refugee processing centre, despite the sudden resignation of President Marcus Stephen. Nauru’s new President, Frederick Pitcher, told Nauru media there would be no change in the government’s course, despite the departure of his Read more
Tony Abbott wants Nauru to be used for the off-shore processing of asylum seekers. The Australian opposition leader has refused to support either of the Government’s versions of amendments which would have made a Malaysian deal lawful, and offered a third – his own. Like Labour’s, it is designed to accommodate a recent High Court Read more
The Australian Government has indicated that Nauru is unlikely to be use for Asylum Seekers. The Immigration Minister Chris Bowen has released financial estimates that reveal it would cost just under a billion dollars to process asylum seekers on Nauru over the next four years. He’s labelled it an expensive and ineffective option Australia’s Government Read more