Australia ‘in early discussions’ with Cambodia on refugee transfer

Scott Morrison says refugee resettlement from Nauru should not mean 'a ticket to a first-class economy'

The Independent (UK) | 11 April 2014 

Morrison said the Australian government would fund some 'resettlement packages' for refugees moved to Cambodia, but declined to detail the costs. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

Scott Morrison has given the clearest indication yet of a refugee resettlement deal with Cambodia, stating Australia is in “early discussions” with the south-east Asian state to eventually transfer refugees processed in Nauru. 

The immigration minister visited Cambodia last week, following a visit in March by the foreign minister, Julie Bishop, fueling speculation that a deal on asylum seekers was being forged. 

The minister told the ABC on Thursday that refugee resettlement should not mean “a ticket to a first-class economy” describing a resettlement deal with Cambodia as “an opportunity to change that paradigm”. 

“Are we going to get behind a process which expands the number of countries that can participate in global resettlement where there's a dearth of places, or are we going to hold out and say that, well, we're only interested in freeing people from persecution if they can do so in a first-world economy?” Morrison said. 

Morrison said the Australian government would fund some “resettlement packages” for refugees moved to Cambodia, but declined to detail the costs. 

He added that around 60 asylum seekers on Nauru were due to have their protection claims finalised within the month and those found to be refugees would be eligible for temporary visas in Nauru.He conceded there was no deal on permanent resettlement for refugees on Nauru, which has the world’s second smallest country population of 9,378 citizens. 

"The agreement was never there for permanent resettlement in Nauru but there will be a lengthy period of temporary resettlement in Nauru," he said.

Morrison’s comments have drawn renewed criticism from politicians opposed to the negotiations. 

The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the Cambodia plan was aimed at “shipping human suffering around our region”. 

“Boosting refugee processing in the region and resettling larger numbers of people in Australia will ease the burden and give people a safer option than boarding a boat,” Hanson-Young said. “The current offshore detention regime is untenable and expanding it to include Cambodia, one of the poorest nations in the region, will only make it worse.”

Human rights advocates have also drawn attention to Cambodia’s poor human rights record and the fact that, according to the World Bank, 20% of Cambodians live beneath the poverty line.