Former President Regrets Signing Deal to Establish Offshore Processing on Nauru

Nauru's former president, Sprent Dabwido regrets signing a deal with Julia Gillard to establish offshore processing on his island about seven years ago. Dabwido claims it led to refuge deaths in the detention centre. "I regret my decision at that time. In doing that we have turned our country upside down. I thought I was doing the right thing but deaths still occurred, not at the sea but on my island."

Dabwido said the experience for refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru had 'become torture' and while he might be happy to 'eat fish and sit on the sand', he acknowledged they had a different idea of what home is. He said the policy at the time he signed the agreement, which did not include boat arrival going offshore and never resettling in Australia, had changed. "It is time to end processing on Nauru. It is hurting Nauru as much as it is hurting Australia, it has turned my island upside down."

Reports highlight the former president as among a number of former politicians and high-profile Nauruans dubbed the 'Nauru 19', called for their involvement in a protest against the government crackdown on MPs in 2015. The government sought to convict and jail the protesters, including Dabwido, and the long-running saga has led to multiple court cases and extraordinary responses by the Nauruan government. Dabwido reiterated that the Australian money had been destructive to his nation. "Lives have been lost, corruption and greed and it's overtaken my island."