Australia’s Nauru asylum policy faces renewed scrutiny over food access, ASRC report says

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early every person seeking asylum interviewed on Nauru for a new report by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) says they are unable to afford enough food, raising fresh questions about conditions within Australia’s offshore processing system despite government spending approaching $1 billion on the policy over the past financial year.

The report, Hungry for Freedom: Food deprivation among people seeking asylum on Nauru, coincides with the 13th anniversary of Australia’s decision to reintroduce offshore processing on 19 July 2012. Based on interviews with 78 of the roughly 91 people seeking asylum currently living in Nauru’s Regional Processing Centre (RPC-3) or community accommodation, the research covers more than 85 per cent of the remaining cohort.

According to the ASRC, 99 per cent of respondents said they could not afford enough food using the allowance provided to them. Around 68 per cent reported they rarely or never had access to fresh fruit, vegetables or meat, while 82 per cent said they did not have reliable access to free, clean drinking water.

Interviewees described skipping meals, reducing portion sizes and relying on inexpensive staples such as rice or dry biscuits after running out of money. Some reported eating expired or discarded food because they had no other option. One participant said they had lost 16 kilograms since arriving on Nauru, while another said they limited themselves to one meal a day to make food last until the next payment.

The report says most people seeking asylum living in the community receive an allowance of $260 a fortnight and are not permitted to work, leaving them dependent on government support to meet their daily needs. Respondents also reported facing violence or intimidation when visiting shops or attempting to fish to supplement their food supply.

Access to drinking water was another concern raised in the report. Participants said requests for water filters had been refused, forcing some to boil tap water or purchase bottled water despite the added expense.

ASRC Deputy Chief Executive Jana Favero said the findings raise questions about how public money is being spent within Australia’s offshore detention system.

“The Albanese Government has paid an outrageous sum of nearly one billion dollars of taxpayer money to private companies running offshore detention over the past year, yet the people it sent to Nauru don’t even have enough food to eat. This raises serious concerns about where all that money is going,” she said.

Favero said the organisation believes Australia is failing to meet its duty of care to people transferred offshore and argued that the conditions documented in the report fall short of basic standards of safety and human dignity.

One asylum seeker interviewed for the report, identified only as Mohammed to protect his identity, described the personal impact of food shortages.

“When I’m hungry, I feel tired, dizzy and too weak. I don’t feel normal. It increases sadness. I’m not angry at the government or the process, I just want to have enough to eat,” he said.

Government expenditure on offshore processing has remained a subject of public debate. According to figures cited by the ASRC, Australia has spent more than $14.35 billion on offshore detention since 2012, with costs increasing by more than $400 million in the past financial year to almost $1 billion.

The Australian Government has previously maintained that offshore processing remains a central element of its border protection policy, arguing it helps prevent dangerous maritime journeys and disrupts people smuggling operations. Successive governments from both major parties have supported the policy, although human rights organisations, refugee advocates and several international bodies have continued to express concerns about conditions experienced by people held offshore.

The ASRC is calling for renewed attention to the welfare of the remaining people seeking asylum on Nauru, arguing that access to adequate food and drinking water should be guaranteed regardless of immigration status. The report adds to ongoing debate over the humanitarian and financial costs of Australia’s offshore processing arrangements.

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