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Key Points
  • Three former immigration detainees who were part of the NZYQ cohort will be resettled in Nauru.
  • Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced the deal with Nauru on Sunday, saying all three were “violent offenders”.
  • The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre says refugee advocates will launch a legal challenge as a “matter of urgency”.
Asylum seeker advocates are scrambling to launch urgent legal action against the federal government, as it prepares to deport three non-citizens to Nauru.
On Sunday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced the small Pacific nation had who were among the so-called ‘NZYQ cohort’ released into the community after the High Court .
“All three are violent offenders. One is a murderer,” Burke said.

“They will be put on a plane and sent to Nauru as soon as arrangements are able to be made. That will not be within the next seven days, but it will be as soon as possible.”

A man in a suit standing in front of an Australian flag and dark blue curtain.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced that Nauru had agreed to issue long-term resettlement visas to three former immigration detainees on Sunday. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

On Monday, Jana Favero of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre told SBS News the government’s announcement surprised advocates, who will launch a legal challenge as a “matter of urgency”.

“We are ready to do whatever it takes to fight this legally, to ensure a dangerous precedent is not set by deporting people just because they are not citizens,” Favero said.
“Across with colleagues in the refugee and legal sector, we will work together to ensure people’s human rights are not breached by deporting them to countries who [Australia] is paying to take them.”
Favero said a challenge could be lodged “within days” but more detail on the detainees’ circumstances was needed.

“We found out this news through the media, so it’s difficult to ascertain even where these three individuals are, but it’s something we are looking into as a matter of priority and urgency.”

Cost on top of $140m budget deal

In December, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Nauru President David Adeang signed a landmark defence treaty, with Australia agreeing to provide $140 million in budgetary support to Nauru over five years in exchange for veto power over any security pacts the Pacific nation enters.
On 12 February, the first tranche of this funding was transferred to Nauru.
Burke’s announcement came four days later.

SBS understands the resettlement deal is not part of the $140 million package and will be paid separately.

While Burke would not disclose exactly how much the government is paying Nauru, he confirmed “there is a cost” to the resettlement deal.
“There is also a cost in the high level of monitoring … when these individuals are in the community here in Australia, there was also a cost when they were being held in detention,” he said.
Adeang was due to provide a statement to local news outlets on Monday about “new arrangements with Australia on the resettling of non-citizens”, according to a post on the government’s Facebook page.

This has not yet been published, but SBS has requested comment from Nauru’s government.

Opposition says Australia ‘less safe’

On Monday, Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the government’s handling of the NZYQ debacle had “left Australians less safe”.
“This is a problem of the government’s own making … they didn’t defend the Commonwealth’s position in the High Court in NZYQ, which meant more than 200 criminals were released from immigration detention.”
Opposition home affairs spokesperson James Paterson said it was “too little too late”.
“There are still almost 280 violent non-citizens free in the community. Sixty-five have reoffended against Australians since Labor let them out. Zero have been preventatively detained under laws rushed through in December 2023,” he said.

“Sending just a handful to Nauru is hardly going to keep Australians safe.”

‘Appalling policy’

Abul Rivzi, former deputy-secretary of the Department of Immigration, labelled the policy “appalling”.
Speaking to ABC News, he called it “more of a political solution than good policy solution”.
“Fundamentally we need to understand that Nauru has never been used for permanent resettlement by Australia,” Rivzi said.
“We have used it as an offshore processing facility, but have never permanently resettled anyone on Nauru because we didn’t think it was suitable for that purpose.

“If we want to help Nauru, let’s provide them with development assistance. But foisting these people on Nauru in exchange for money just because the country is small, poor and desperate … it just stinks.”

The timeline so far

In November 2023, the High Court ruled indefinite immigration detention was illegal.
This triggered the release of 215 non-citizens, some of whom had served jail sentences for violent crimes like rape and murder, into the community.
They are known as the ‘NZYQ cohort’.
Labor scrambled to impose monitoring conditions such as ankle bracelets and curfews on the group, which was subject to a second legal challenge.
On 6 November 2024, the High Court — and therefore unconstitutional (because only courts, not politicians, can impose punishment.)
The following day, Burke announced a new ministerial direction to allow him to on the NZYQ cohort, and new laws to boost the government’s deportation powers.

The laws passed parliament with Coalition support on 26 November 2024.

On 9 December, Albanese and Adeang signed a landmark security pact in Canberra, with the government committing $140 million over four years to underwrite Nauru’s federal budget, in exchange for veto power over any security deals the nation entered.
On 12 February, the first tranche of that funding was delivered.

On 16 February, Tony Burke announced the Nauru government had agreed to issue three of the non-citizens long-term resettlement visas.

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