20 Dec 2013

Minister says Nauru centre conditions better than mining camps

7:56 am on 20 December 2013

Australian Foreign Minister Julia Bishop has described conditions at the Nauru immigration processing centre as being better than those of most mining camps in Australia.

A report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees last month said the centre is cramped and very hot.

The ABC reports Ms Bishop visited the centre as part of during a three-day tour of the Pacific, which also included Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

She maintains the living standards are high for the more than 700 asylum seekers currently on Nauru.

"They were certainly better than mining camps in Australia," Ms Bishop said. "The standard of medical care and services I thought was very high.

"We met a number of the doctors. We talked to them in detail about the services that they're providing.

''They themselves described the services as comparable to those that would be received in a significant regional centre in Australia."