30 Oct 2002

Australia accepts more refugees processed on Nauru

6:22 pm on 30 October 2002

Another 21 people granted refugee status arrived in Brisbane last night from Australia's asylum seeker processing centre on Nauru.

Australia has been processing asylum seekers in offshore centres as part of its so called Pacific Solution following the Tampa crisis last year.

The Immigration Department says that of 944 people remaining in offshore processing centres 842 are on Nauru and 102 on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

The department says the most recent group of arrivals were six men, four women and 11 children.

Three were from Afghanistan and 18 were Iraqis -they are expected to settle with family members already living in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia.