This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The minister for human services, Alan Tudge, has said there is still public support for offshore detention in the wake of the Nauru files published by Guardian Australia.

Asked by Paul Kelly on Sky News if he believed “given the revelations in recent weeks that there is still public support for offshore detention”, Tudge responded: “I still think there is public support for our strong border protection regime which as you know consists of three parts.

“Turning back the boats when it’s safe to do so, offshore detention and temporary protection visas.

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“The success of our border protection regime rests on those three operating together so if you remove one of those then there is a very high risk that the boats will start to come once again and I don’t think the Australian public want that.”

After the government last week held talks with the Papua New Guinea prime minister Peter O’Neill regarding the closure of the Manus detention centre, an analysis by the parliamentary library emerged that showed Manus had cost Australian taxpayers about $2bn since it was reopened by the Gillard government in 2011.

This would equate to more than $1m for each of the 2,000 people who have been imprisoned there and the figures have not included the most recent capital costs.

The government has been under pressure over offshore detention after the Nauru files detailed around 2,000 incident reports, some of which relate to trauma and abuse inside Australia’s offshore detention centre.

Tudge said former detainees on Nauru had a number of options, including returning to their home countries and the “Cambodia option”. The Coalition has consistently rejected the idea of taking up an offer from New Zealand to take some of the refugees.



“Minister Dutton is very reticent with doing a deal with somewhere like New Zealand because effectively that could become a backdoor measure into Australia because obviously permanent residents and citizens of New Zealand also get access to Australia,” Tudge said.

“We have always had a very strong position that people who arrive here unlawfully by boats wont be able to settle in Australia.”

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He said there were 300 people currently employed on the island of Nauru – which he said was now effectively an accommodation centre as people were free to come and go – while some people had started their own businesses.

Asked how the government could verify Australia’s border protection policy had stopped drownings at sea, Tudge said it had stopped drownings between home countries and third countries to Australia.

“We have stopped the drownings from the boats who are travelling between either the person’s home country or indeed a third country to Australia,” Tudge said.

“That is at least what is partially within our control and we have managed to do that. That is real. It is very significant, the fact we have saved lives at sea by doing so.

“It is a tough policy to achieve those objectives but I think when you weigh up all the other imperfect alternatives I think this is the right moral course of action.”