Domestic and international criticism of the camps on Nauru has grown amid reports of abuse, suicides and lengthy detention periods (AFP Photo/PETER PARKS) |
Public pressure was mounting on Australia's government Sunday to remove refugee children detained on the Pacific island of Nauru, possibly to New Zealand, even as the prime minister raised fears such transfers could encourage new arrivals.
Under a
harsh policy meant to deter asylum-seekers from reaching Australia by boat,
Canberra sends arrivals to remote Pacific camps for processing and bars them
from resettling in Australia.
But
domestic and international criticism of the camps has grown amid reports of
abuse, suicides and lengthy detention periods, even as the government says the
policy is discouraging asylum-seekers from embarking on dangerous sea voyages.
A YouGov
Galaxy poll commissioned by Sydney's Sunday Telegraph -- a tabloid that usually
backs the conservative government -- found 79 percent of those surveyed want
children and their families transferred off Nauru.
Thousands
of Australians on Saturday also rallied in Sydney and Melbourne against the
offshore camp.
The
children's plight was highlighted earlier this month after Nauru kicked out
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), a global medical charity that had been treating
asylum-seekers in the camps.
MSF said
many children were suffering "traumatic withdrawal syndrome" and were
unable to eat, drink or talk.
The UN
refugee agency UNHCR added in mid-October that the health situation of
asylum-seekers and refugees was "collapsing".
Ahead of a
crucial Sydney by-election this month, PM Scott Morrison seemed willing to work
with the Labor opposition to allow some refugees to be transferred to New
Zealand, although they would still be blocked from entering Australia.
But with
ongoing counting pointing to a loss in the seat for the government, Morrison
has since appeared to back away from a deal.
"I
just want to get them off, but I want to get them off in a way which does not
put more children on Nauru," he told commercial broadcaster Channel Nine
on Friday.
"If
one boat turns up or one child is floating face down in the water, how would
Australia feel then?"
Within
Morrison's Liberal Party, three MPs have so far called for children to be
removed.
New Zealand
has an open offer to take 150 people from Nauru, and PM Jacinda Ardern said
Monday she expected women and children to be prioritised if Australia accepts
the proposal.
However,
she said the decision was "ultimately a matter for the Australian
government".
There are
635 asylum-seekers and refugees on Nauru, including 52 children, according to
Immigration Minister David Coleman.
There are
also some 600 men in transition centres on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island
after the camp there was closed late last year, according to refugee advocates.
Under a
deal with former American president Barack Obama, 439 people have so far been
resettled from Manus and Nauru to the United States, Coleman added.
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