One of the best things about the fact that Kevin Rudd was elected as Australia’s new Prime Minister is the scrapping of the “Pacific Solution” — an ominously-named plan that processed refugees seeking to come to Australia on offshore sites, including Nauru.
Under the policy, which was introduced following the Tampa crisis in the lead-up to the 2001 federal election, asylum seekers intercepted before they reach the Australian mainland are processed at camps on Nauru and Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea.
A recent report by Oxfam Australia and refugee advocacy group A Just Australia said the “flawed system” fuelled mental illness in refugees, failed to uphold Australia’s commitment under international law and squandered money.
