Is Nauru ready for offshore processing?

Tony Abbott has promised that if elected, placing a phone call to the president of Nauru would be a first-day priority and that the tiny island’s detention centres would be reopened in a matter of weeks.

Shadow immigration spokesman Scott Morrison may be asking Mr. Abbott to reconsider this timeline after his inspection of the broken-down remnants of Nauru’s Top Side detention camp on Monday. Mr. Morrison was accompanied on his trip by The Australian’s Paul Malley, who noted that:

“Were the Coalition to win power in two weeks and proceed with its plan to reactivate the Nauru’s offshore processing facility, the dongas in Nauru’s main Top Side camp would surely have to be pulled down and replaced. “

All that remains are the shells of 20 demountable buildings, many of which have been stripped of their windows and doors. There is no running water or power available to the camp. So how much would a Coalition government have to pour into Nauru to rebuild and reopen Top Side?

The cost of rebuilding is only the tip of the iceberg however. Under the Howard government the estimated cost of maintaining the detention facilities on Nauru was approximately $2 million a month. You can add to this figure the inducements paid through Australia’s aid program to sweeten the deal. Between 1992 and 2001, Australia gave $24.6 million in aid to Nauru. Between 2001 and 2006 (the period during which Nauru participated in offshore processing), our aid contribution jumped fivefold to $123 million. Total aid expenditure budgeted for Nauru in 2010-11 is $26.6 million. If Top Side reopens, expect this figure to rise. For an election being fought over returning the budget to surplus and reducing government spending, these amounts are far from insignificant.

Beyond simple economic concerns there is an additional cost – the human cost imposed by a policy of mandatory offshore detention. Past experience should have taught us something about the serious mental health problems offshore detention in remote locations causes. Numerous detainees held on Nauru suffered from depression and multiple instances of self-harm were recorded.  Faced with the prospect of indefinite detention, forty-five detainees engaged in a hunger strike out of sheer desperation.  During the centre’s operation at least 40 detainees were airlifted to Australia from Nauru for medical treatment that was not available on the island.  Finally and most distressingly, a 26-year old asylum seeker with no known physical or mental health problems died in detention on Nauru in 2002.

The Top Side camp on Nauru is not yet operational, but if elected a Coalition government would have the capacity to repair and re-open it relatively quickly. The real question is given the associated costs, not only financial but human, are we as Australians ready for it to be reopened? Hopefully, the answer is no.