Refugees held on Manus Island could be transferred to Nauru after the Pacific Island nation said it would consider any transfer request from the Turnbull government.
The offer comes ahead of the planned closure of the Manus Island centre by the end of October with Immigration Minister Peter Dutton reaffirming economic migrants would be barred entry to Australia.
Dutton told 2GB radio Thursday that those not found to be refugees would be returned to their homelands, with about 400 of the 850 men on Manus Island having already received negative determinations.
Nauruan Justice Minister David Adeang has given the government the option of sending failed refugees to his nation’s processing centre if they resisted attempts to send them home.
Adeang told The Australian there was extra capacity at the processing centre on Nauru to accommodate more people, but he said all individuals would be subject to strict security checks. He flagged the prospect of troublesome asylum-seekers with poor behaviour records at Manus being rejected and said candidates for transfer had to transition into Nauruan society, given the open-plan centre.
“The regional processing centres on Nauru have the capability to accept more people, therefore Nauru would consider any request of this nature from the Australian government,” Adeang said.
“We’d need to take into consideration all relevant factors including the history of the asylum-seekers while on Manus Island, and their ability to assimilate into the Nauruan community. Asylum-seekers on Nauru are not in detention, but reside in open centres, giving them full access to the local community.”
Dutton earlier said genuine refugees held on Manus Island would be allowed to settle in PNG or be taken to the US under the terms of an agreement struck with the Obama administration.
The government has not confirmed how many of the 2000 people on Manus or Nauru would be resettled in the US under the agreement reluctantly accepted by US President Donald Trump.
Photo file NYT: Nauru