But many other elements in the budget have raised their ire, including issues surrounding the humanitarian intake.
Christmas Island is now bracing for the impact detention facility closures will have on the tiny Indian Ocean territory.
The federal government claimed that closing the Phosphate Hill and Construction Camp facilities on Christmas Island will help to save over 500-million dollars over five years.
The Immigration Department said closing the two facilities on Christmas Island will contribute to at least 320 million dollars over the coming years.
The plan is to keep North West Point centre on Christmas Island as a contingency from next year.
Christmas Island Shire President Gordon Thomson said while the detention centres have been disastrous in many ways for the Island, their closure will also be a blow.
"Fortunately, we have the phosphate mine, which is exporting phosphate, and continues to export phosphate and will continue to export phosphate, which is a major employer, but many local people are employed at the detention centre. This will affect them," he said.
Mr Thomson said for him personally, and to many people on the Island, the idea of locking people up in detention is abhorrent.
But he said the Island will suffer economically and socially from the closures.
"It is most likely that those people who have been brought to the island to work at the detention centre if their jobs are not there, they will leave the island. So we will see a reduction in the number of people living on the island and that will have an impact on the local economy," he said.
Kon Karapanagiotidis, Chief Executive of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, welcomes the move to see the closure of any detention facility, but remains concerned about Australia's detention facilities on Nauru, and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.
"Now, if you want real budget savings, how about you close Nauru, close Manus and there is two billion dollars per annum right there. "
Christmas Island Shire President Gordon Thomson said Christmas Island must now focus on establishing other industries.
"We have research underway for development of agriculuture on the island. The reserarch is very very positive. There are very positive indications we can establish some agrculture on the island. The tourism industry would like to gear up so that tourism becomes a permanent and sustainable part of our economy. It was killed off during the operation of the detention centre over the last few years," he said.
The federal budget papers also detailed an eventual increase in the number of humanitarian refugees.
The program will remain at just under 14,000 people for the time being, before increasing to just under 19,000 over the next four years.
Refugee advocacy groups said they're angry that the increase can't be immediate.
Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition said Australia should be ashamed given the humanitarian crisis around the world.
"Australian government policies are forcing people into the sea between Indonesia and Malaysia. It is a complete miss that the policies are about saving people, they are directly causing people to risk their lives in the boats and to their inability and their willingness to respond mean that people are going to die in the sea."
Mr Karapanagiotidis said overall, the budget showed what he called a callous attitude towards refugees.
"Didn't increase the refugee humanitarian intake, cut 140 grand from the Refugee Council, about to spend 40 million on propaganda videos to scare refugees off. This is a failed budget. More waste, more cruelty and more heartlessness from this government," he said.
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