NAURU: NGO report slams Australia's "Pacific Solution"
Updated
A report on Australia's policy of keeping asylum seekers on remote Pacific islands claims it's inefficient, unaccountable, and diverts aid from poverty reduction. The report, "A Price Too High" from the NGOs Oxfam and "A Just Australia", says the Pacific Solution has cost Australian taxpayers more than half a million dollars per person to process fewer than 1,700 asylum seekers. It puts the total cost at just over a billion Australian dollars. Oxfam spokesman, Nic Mclellan, says the policy costs too much, fuels mental illnesses of asylum seekers, and distorts the relationship between Australian and Pacific countries.
Presenter: Bruce Hill
Speakers: Oxfam spokesman, Nic Mclellan
