Coalition Lies on Nauru

Pamela Curr
18 August 2010

The Coalition lies on Nauru are continuing because the Government remains silent. All it takes for democratic governments to oppress the vulnerable is complicity between them.

Journalists have nothing to write if there is no conflict. Even though honest reports were made on the proposed Nauru solution, we see Abbott and Morrison continue with their lies and half truths without challenge. Abbott says asylum seekers had full freedom on Nauru : LIE. They were locked up in a filthy Nauru prison if they left the camp. It was not until 2005 when only 52 people were left on the island that they were allowed out during the day to some parts of the island. This is just one of the many lies and half truths being put about by Abbott and Co.

Last week Mr Abbott sent Shadow Immigration Minister Scott Morrison off to Nauru. The small island nation has been constantly touted by Opposition leader Abbott as a key plank in the Coalition's policy for "stopping the boats". Indeed Mr Abbott has reminded us frequently that, "on Day One" he will pick up the phone to the President of Nauru despatch asylum seekers there immediately.

What the Nauruan politicians could claim of their preparedness to provide detention facilities from a hotel in Sydney differs markedly from the brute reality of broken down dongas visually evident 4000 kilometres away in Nauru.

Morrison was accompanied by Paul Maley from The Australian and Tracy Vo from Channel Nine. They inspected the ruins of the old detention camp called "Topside". The other camp is currently in use as the High School for the island's children since a disgruntled Nauruan burnt down the original school in fury at the corruption of the Nauruan political system.

While it is seemingly not a problem for the Nauru political leaders to kick their kids out of the only school buildings available, it might be a harder call for Australian politicians to do the same.

Topside Camp has been stripped and will require rebuilding from scratch. Former PM Howard sent asylum seekers there in 2001 to live in hastily erected black plastic shelters with flush toilets with no water to flush them and no drinking water. No one was allowed in so this inhumanity was only exposed years later.

Nauru has no local food supply beyond fish. The Nauruans have resisted all attempts to encourage them to plant vegetable gardens and grow food. They prefer the frozen western food which is flown in from Australia and New Zealand despite the fact that it contributes to Nauruans having the world's highest rate of diabetes with over 40% of their population affected.

Currently there is no water or power. The desalination plant which works only intermittently depends on fuel from Australia and New Zealand. The refrigerators which store the frozen food also depend on these fuel supplies to power the generators owned by local landowners. Drinking water is also flown in.

In days past the ships, used to bring phosphate to Melbourne, would return with Melbourne water as ballast in the hold to be used as drinking water on Nauru. Fortunately for the Opposition, no journalists have asked how much it will cost to provide food, water, fuel and medical supplies to keep asylum seekers alive on Nauru.

Australia pays Nauru $26 million in aid annually, which is more than 50% of their GNP.

Scrutiny of this policy proposal is difficult as so few media outlets are prepared for the costs of sending journalists to investigate. Maley, The Australian journalist sent to cover Morrison's Nauru adventure, to his credit, wrote the story as he saw it. But then the paper, having spent thousands to send Maley over 4000 kilometres to Nauru, buried his story on page 8. The Channel Nine journalist wrote a predictable Channel Nine piece.

Paul Toohey has a comprehensive piece in The Punch today.

Paul Maley wrote the definitive piece on Nauru corruption - you will fall about laughing and then you might just feel sick to see our country lining up at the trough.

Nauru as dumping ground for refugees must not happen.

Nauru: no place for a refugee detention centre

Pamela Curr, 14 July 2010

Do not let the Liberals whitewash the appalling conditions in which they dumped human beings in 2001. Both Liberal MPs Pyne and Morrison are running a rehearsed line on Nauru claiming that within 10 days of the Howard announcement of Nauru as a refugee dumping ground in 2001 that it was up and running. Please note that this involved putting up timber skeletons then stapling black plastic to the frames. Nauru is on the equator - hot and humid - plastic-wrapped shelters exacerbated extreme discomfort. Water flush toilets were installed but there was no water to flush them. Children became sick with diarrhoea and skin conditions because of the heat, flies and poor sanitary conditions.

Bankrupt and corrupt with a population of less than 10,000, Nauru was overwelmingly compliant. They said no violence was to be used in removing people from the boats to Nauru, They then joined Minister Ruddock in saying that everyone had disembarked voluntarily. This was despite media photographs illustrating that 10 men were physically dragged and carried off the boat.

Nauru complied with Australian government requests in stopping doctors, lawyers and church representatives from going to Nauru even when there was extreme distress among the asylum seekers. None went in unless the Australian government approved. Of course the Liberal party would want to see Nauru reinstated.

Nauru cost one billion dollars to incarcerate 1500 people for up to 4 years. Two men were left on Nauru because ASIO gave them an adverse security assessment. Then when one of these men became so ill that his life was in dager he was transferred to Australia and ASIO reversed the security assessment. He lives peacefully in Australia today. The other man eventually found refuge in Sweden where unsurprisingly he too is living peacefully. This makes a mockery of ASIO adverse security assessments when used for political purposes.

This report by Oxfam ‘A Price Too High: The cost of Australia’s approach to Asylum Seekers, outlines the financial, moral and health costs of the Pacific Solution.

http://www.oxfam.org.au/media/releases/?oldID=386

http://crisishub.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/case-study-4-a-price-too-high.pdf

Pamela Curr
Campaign Coordinator
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre