Sri Lankans arrive at reopened Nauru

14 Sep 2012, 4:37 pm   -   Source: AAP
The Nauru offshore processing centre reopened with the arrival of 30 Sri Lankans on Friday. (AAP)

The Nauru offshore processing centre reopened with the arrival of 30 Sri Lankans on Friday. (AAP)

Australia has sent the first group of 30 Sri Lankan asylum seekers for processing on Nauru, as human rights advocates raise concerns.

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Women and children could be sent from Australia to Nauru in coming weeks despite human rights concerns about the return to offshore processing on the Pacific island.

About 30 Sri Lankan men arrived on Nauru on Friday morning after being flown from Christmas Island, off the West Australian coast.

They will be the first asylum seekers to be processed offshore since the Rudd Labor government closed the Nauru detention facility in 2008.

A Nauru government spokesman said the men appeared "relaxed" as they went through the airport before being taken to temporary tent housing where they were met by the Salvation Army, which is providing support services.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said on Friday the men were selected by his department for "operational reasons" and implied the next groups may not all be men.

"I think you can expect to see a broad cross-section of people transferred to Nauru next week and in coming weeks," he told reporters in Sydney.

Asked if that included children, Mr Bowen said: "We are not going to provide loopholes for people to exploit."

Past Australian government policy of being more sympathetic to the plight of unaccompanied children had led to higher numbers of youngsters being sent alone on boats to Australia.

Now the government is enforcing a "no advantage" principle which says people who arrive in Australia by boat will not have an advantage over others waiting in refugee camps for resettlement.

The Nauru operations are expected to cost taxpayers about $1.4 billion over the next four years.

Mr Bowen said the first transfer went "smoothly and without incident" and was a significant step in stopping people smugglers, many of whom operate out of Indonesia.

"The message is very clear: if you arrive in Australia by boat you can be taken from Australia by airplane and processed in another country," he said.

Mr Bowen said their length of stay on Nauru would be determined on a "case-by-case basis".

But Australian Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs has "serious concerns" about protections and access to legal advice.

"There is no information as to how prepared Nauru is to process the claims, and it is unclear whether those transferred to Nauru will have access to legal advice," Prof Triggs said in a statement.

He said the immigration department needed to conduct a "risk and vulnerability assessment" of every person sent to Nauru.

The commission was "unconvinced" facilities on Nauru would be adequate for weather and temperature variations or accommodate the needs of women, children and people who have experienced torture and trauma.

Mr Bowen said an agreement between the Australian and Nauru governments on the legal treatment of asylum seekers was close to being finalised.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott welcomed the first transfers but said implementing the Nauru option had been a "slow business".

Since the government announced the return to offshore processing, more than 2100 people have arrived by boat and all face the prospect of being flown to Nauru or another centre on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island to be reopened soon.

But the number already exceeds the total capacity of the two facilities, which can accommodate 1500 and 600 people, respectively.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said there was a risk Nauru would be "overwhelmed".

Greens immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said the government needed to provide more detail about the Nauru operations.

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