Australia Leased Nauru for $262 Million To Accommodate Undeportable Prisoners

JAKARTA - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his country will lease Nauru, a small Pacific island nation, to house immigration prisoners or detainees serving indefinite detention.

Australia is one of the countries that has adopted indefinite detention.

This punishment often ensnares asylum seekers and foreign nationals rejected by their home countries or deemed dangerous by Australia if deported to their home countries.

This neighboring country, Indonesia, also views Nauru as the most effective solution after the Australian High Court in 2023 banned its immigration detention system from implementing indefinite detention.

"People who have no right to be here need to find a place to go if they can't go home," Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Monday, September 1, as quoted by AP.

Australia will lease Nauru with a "dowry," or initial agreement, of AU400 million, equivalent to US$262 million. To maintain the agreement, Australia will pay the country of 13,000 people AU70 million, or approximately US$46 million, annually.

"If they cannot be returned to their country of origin due to our refoulement provisions and obligations, then we will need to find another country for them," Albanese said.

Last Friday, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke made a surprise visit to Nauru to sign a memorandum of understanding with Nauruan President David Adeang.

Adeang said in a statement Sunday that the agreement "contains a commitment to the proper treatment and long-term resettlement of people who do not have a legal right to live in Australia, who will subsequently be accepted by Nauru."

The agreement will become effective immediately after the Nauruan government receives the first transfer from Australia.

"Australia will provide funding to support this arrangement and support Nauru's long-term economic resilience," Adeang continued.

Indefinite detention has repeatedly ensnared Afghans. They cannot be repatriated because their home countries deem them unsafe. This is similar to Iran's refusal to accept its citizens who do not voluntarily return.

This punishment was tested on a Rohingya man, identified as NZYQ, a victim of violence in Myanmar who fled to Australia on a smugglers' boat in 2012. Upon his release in Australia, NZYQ became a convicted child rapist.

NZYQ subsequently served a prison sentence, then was transferred to indefinite immigration detention until he finally won in court.

More than 200 immigrants or asylum seekers in Australia were prevented from being deported. They were later released from detention following NZYQ's victory in court cases. However, after their release, some were reincarcerated in Australian prisons after being found guilty of crimes.