Immigration minister tours barely-used Nauru detention centre

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Created on Thursday, 04 October 2012 15:40

Written by Editorial staff

Immigration and citizenship minister Chris Bowen has come under fire from his opposition counterpart, Scott Morrison, who claims that not enough asylum seekers are being sent to the recently reopened Nauru detention centre.

Morrison said that with less than five per cent of boat people actually arriving on Nauru, Bowen, who is currently touring the island nation, will likely see more of it than any asylum seeker.

Bowen is currently touring Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Nauru to see first-hand what the processing centres look like. In a press statement, he said this visit is also to thank the PNG and Nauru governments for their cooperation in regional processing.

Bowen's assertion that regional procession is vital to solving Australia's irregular migration issue is in stark contrast to the fact that so few migrants with legal immigration visas are sent to any of these processing centres. Morrison said that the federal government's delay is a win for people smugglers.

"Since Labor was dragged kicking and screaming into re-opening Nauru, 58 boats have arrived with 3,612 people on board and less than five per cent have been sent to Nauru for processing.

"Minister Bowen today said he was pleased with this result, and in doing so endorsed an asylum lottery for those sent to Nauru in which the odds are being stacked further in favour of people smugglers," he said.

Morrison went on to say that a review of the detention centre in Nauru needs to be undertaken, given recent rioting saw detainees revolt with knives and other weapons. He's asking the Department of Immigration and Citizenship about how those in the detention centre obtained access to these weapons.

He said that the Australian people can't trust Bowen, given the fact that riots in detention centres at Villawood and Christmas Island took place during his time as immigration minister, and he failed to take responsibility for these events.

He went on to say that Bowen's approach, which was to drag his and the government's heels, is completely different from how the Howard government responded to such a problem. He said the Liberal government's approach to an influx of asylum seekers, with temporary protection visas, offshore processing and turning around boats where it was safe to do so, ensured that billions of dollars weren't wasted housing asylum seekers and lives weren't being lost at sea.

It comes as Bowen announced that a group of Sri Lankan boat people elected to return to their country of origin rather than continue with their asylum claim with Australia.

"The majority of this group were in the post-13 August cohort and faced transfer to a regional processing centre in Nauru or Papua New Guinea - they have instead chosen to return home voluntarily," he said.