The Christmas Island detention centre has been shut down and the last remaining inmates transferred to mainland Australia, the government confirmed on Thursday night.
Known for its stunning geography, and unforgiving immigration detention centre, Christmas Island is out of sight and out of mind for most Australians. The island has been ‘home’ for thousands of asylum seekers since the facility opened in 2008.
As of the weekend, the detention centre is no more. The last 35 detainees were taken from the facility on Sunday and transferred to mainland facilities.
Immigration Minister David Coleman says the centre will be kept in a state of “operational readiness” so it can be re-opened at short notice.
“This Government has stopped the boats, stopped the evil people smuggling trade and removed those children from detention,” he said in a statement on Thursday night.
The Australian government opened the most recent immigration facility on Christmas Island in 2008.
The island was the scene of a mass tragedy in 2010, when 50 asylum seekers drowned when their boat sank after hitting rocks near Flying Fish Cove.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the government has not updated its immigration detention statistics since June 30. On that date, there were 239 men at the Christmas Island facility – far fewer than its peak of around 2,400 people in 2010, when the then Labor government was inundated with boat arrivals.
The government says that the centre is one of many that has closed since 2013, which had saved the government more than $500 million.
Commissioned by John Howard but first used by Kevin Rudd, the Christmas Island detention centre has long been an emblem of Australia’s controversial handling of asylum seekers who come by boat.
