Fomer Australian PM, Tony Abbott Photo: RNZI / Koro Vaka'uta
A former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has condemned the decision to pay compensation to the people Canberra has held in its detention centres in Papua New Guinea.
The government has agreed to an out-of-court settlement to pay $AU70 million to 1905 men as their complaint for false imprisonment was about to go to court.
However Mr Abbott said he didn't think the sort of case should have even got to court, let alone resulted in this kind of a settlement.
He said Australia has a judiciary that takes the side of the so-called victim rather than the side of common sense.
The immigration minister Peter Dutton said the government's decision to settle was prudent and averted the risk of a lengthy and costly trial and potentially much-larger adjudicated payout.
