Doubts on Nauru asylum seeker processing plan

Transcript

Suspended Nauru opposition MP Roland Kun says processing 600 asylum-seeker applications in one week is logistically impossible.

He questions the quality of that processing, given each application requires extensive research work.

Mr Kun says he was surprised to hear of the Nauru government's announcement to finalise the last 600 refugee claims at Nauru's Australian-run detention facility.

Roland Kun talked to Esther Zweifel about the community's response to the announcement.   

ROLAND KUN: Well there's going to be worry because of the details. There's absence in the details which are critical in terms of whose, what happens to those who are determined not to be refugees.

ESTHER ZWEIFEL: Are you surprised that this isn't wider knowledge in Nauru at the moment?

RK: I am very surprised because this is news to me, I didn't see this coming, I don't understand why they're doing it. I am aware that there's currently a court case in Australia in the High Court in regards to the legality to the detention of refugees on the island. I'm not sure whether we're playing into that, so until I get some more information I really do not know what they're doing. I wasn't aware of this.

EZ: The Nauru government stated that they will be getting more Australian police assistance in for the island following this announcement. Do you think this would be necessary?

RK: Well I think it's necessary. I think that's already overdue that we bring in more assistance ever since the government removed the commissioner of police. There are deficiencies within the police force. Currently they have employed a handful of people who are supposed to be on-call police officers who don't have any training but they're acting as police officers and that to me is quite dangerous for everyone.

EZ: Another thing is that they're are proposing to process 600 people in one week, from your knowledge, how long does it usually take to process one person? Does this seem quite a big task?

RK: I think that is where the problem may lay, in that I think logistically what they are saying is just impossible I don't think they can do that in the timeframe they say they're going to do it, and even if they did, then one has to wonder as to the quality of that work. Processing asylum-seeker applications requires extensive research work and I do not know how they are going to do that. That is where they're going to, I think they are just stating an intention but are not being realistic as to what they can actually achieve in terms of timeframes necessary to process applications.