SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia on Sunday defended a A$2.5 billion ($1.62 billion) deal to deport hundreds of non-citizens to the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru over the next 30 years, a plan criticized by human rights groups. Australia’s centre-left Labor government signed the deal with Nauru in September to resettle people denied refugee visas because of criminal convictions, reviving allegations that Australia is “dumping” refugees on small island states. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Sunday that 30-year visas issued to deportees would give them the right to work in Nauru, a country of 12,000 people that occupies just 21 square km (eight square miles) and relies on foreign aid. “I personally went to inspect the accommodation and inspected the health facilities there and the standard there is good,” Burke told Australian Broadcasting Corp television. Human Rights Watch said in September that asylum seekers forcibly transferred to Nauru by Australia died due to medical neglect and suicide. Nauru business owners and community workers expressed mixed feelings to Reuters about people with criminal records being resettled on the island. On Sunday, Burke said health facilities on the island were “far beyond” what some people had speculated about their standards. A 2025 Brigham Young University report said health care systems in Pacific island nations, including Nauru, consistently fall short of World Health Organization standards. Under the agreement, Nauru will receive A$400 million up front to establish an endowment for the resettlement scheme, plus A$70 million annually for the 30-year life of the agreement. Nauru will decide which non-citizens it will accept, although the funds could be clawed back by Australia if the scheme does not meet expectations. Nauru already hosts an Australian-funded processing center for asylum seekers that last year provided the country with $A200 million or two-thirds of its revenue. ($1 = 1.5399 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Australia defends plan to send deportees to tiny Pacific nation of Nauru
