Australia’s immigration policy- Pacific detention camps

The Australian government reversed its February decisions regarding the transfer of immigrants from its Pacific camps. The Australian government does not allow the entry of illegal immigrants into the country. It houses them on the islands of Papua New Guinea and Nauru. In February, the government had introduced the medical evacuation legislation which gave the doctors to order the transfer of immigrants from the island’s detention centres to Australia in case of need for medical care. The current government reversed this due to concerns about the doctors not being ‘elected members’ and the danger posed by the legislation to the country’s border policy. About 500 people still remain in these detention centres and they have been intercepted from the sea as asylum seekers. They have been in these centres for about 6 years. The United Nations had criticised the country for its inadequate provision of medical and mental care facilities for these detainees.