The government says a report in News Ltd papers surrounding plans to increase the capacity of the Christmas Island detention centre is wrong.
News Limited reported on Saturday that the federal government has commissioned a secret audit of the island, as they expect the detainee population to reach 5000 within the next four years.
This morning, the Federal Opposition said the government needs to come clean about how many people it expects to arrive at Christmas Island detention centre, not only this year, but in the future, the opposition says.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Attorney General: News Ltd wrong
But Attorney-General Robert McClelland says the report is wrong.
"The Department of Immigration and Citizenship is in the process of building a 400 bed facility which will take the capacity of Christmas Island up to about 2300," he told reporters on Saturday.
Opposition immigration minister Scott Morrison said the island was already struggling to accommodate its present population.
"We need to remember that these facilities were built, at a stretch, to accommodate 1200 people and Christmas Island, I think, is well beyond its carry capacity at present," he told reporters in Sydney.
"The answer is not putting in more beds and more tents on Christmas Island.
"The answer is to address the policies that are attracting the boats," he said.
Critics of the opposition's approach maintain that economic migrants will always be attracted to wealthier countries, while the persecution of Tamils in Sri Lanka has also added significantly to expected numbers of arrivals.
Opposition slams policies
Mr Morrison believes about 400 new arrivals are coming to Christmas Island each month, compared with 100 who leave each month.
He estimates the average length of time each person spends on the island is 100 to 110 days.
"At the beginning of this financial year the government planned for only 200 people to arrive illegally by boat," he said.
"They upgraded that forecast to 1400 in November, and today over 3000 people have arrived in this manner this year alone, which will mean that the budget for running these operations on Christmas Island will have blown out by some $280 to $300 million by the time we get to the end of this year.
"So the government needs to tell us how big they think this problem is going to be, but more importantly, how they plan to address this plethora of arrivals that has been taking place over the past 18 months."
