Almost 1000 refugees in Australian detention resettled in the US
Just over 200 refugees and asylum seekers remain in Australian offshore detention centres, after almost 1000 were resettled in the US.
Home Affairs Department secretary Marc Ablong has confirmed to Senate Estimates there are still 109 people held on Nauru, and 130 in Papua New Guinea.
This Sept. 4, 2018, photo shows Nibok refugee settlement on Nauru. About 120 refugee children and teenagers were living on Nauru.(AP)
But since 2017, 940 detainees have been transferred to America under a controversial deal struck between former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and former President Barack Obama.
The Greens have long been critical of the refugee agreement, with immigration spokesman Nick McKim accusing the federal government of outsourcing its humanitarian responsibilities.
The New South Wales Nationals are claiming an early win in the Upper Hunter by-election, while Labor’s primary vote has tanked by more than 8 per cent.