Foreign national detainees are being deported from Australia as the nation strikes a controversial deal with the island of Nauru. The tiny nation has received its first migrant from the Commonwealth country and Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Tuesday: “Nauru confirmed last Friday that the first transfer had occurred”. Around 350 immigrants, who have been convicted of crimes including murder and assault, could now be sent to the island after Australia was not able to resettle them elsewhere.
During the country’s previous attempts to deport them, the offenders’ visas were cancelled for violent crimes or because officials raised concerns for their safety. In 2023, a High Court ruling found it unlawful to detain the group of immigrants indefinitely in the immigration detention centre, as there was nowhere to send them. Lawyers cited war or religious prosecution as reasons to prevent resettlement.
The cohort were released from detention into the community, despite serious safety concerns, which led to Australia seeking help from its neighbour, Nauru.
The deal struck between the two nations includes a multi-million dollar payout for the Pacific island to take on the group of migrants. However, the exact terms of the deal are yet to be released.
Australia paid £204m to Nauru for the first group of migrants to be transferred across, and it is understood that Nauru will, in return, grant them long-term visas which will allow them to mix freely.
Immigration spokesperson for the Greens party, David Shoebridge, told local media: “People are secretly being sent to Nauru, with key aspects of the deal still kept from the Australian public.”
He added: “No matter who you are or where you were born, governments should not be able to disappear you, send you off against your will to a country that you have zero connection to.”
Laura John, from the Human Rights Law Centre added that plans have been “shrouded in secrecy from the outset”. She told SBS News: “We do not know if the person who has been exiled has left family behind in Australia, whether they need medical care that is unavailable in Nauru, or even if they still had visa appeal options in Australia.”
Mr Burke has defended the deal, telling the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, he had inspected the accommodation and health facilities on Nauru and “the standard there is good”.
The official had previously said: “When somebody has come and treated Australians in a way that shows an appalling character, their visas do get cancelled and when their visas are cancelled, they should leave.”