30 Jun 2004

35 Afghani refugees moved from Nauru to Australia

10:19 am on 30 June 2004

35 Afghani refugees, more than half of them children, flew into Brisbane last night after years of being detained on Nauru as part of Australia's Pacific Solution for asylum seekers.

The refugees - eleven men, five women and nineteen children - will be resettled in Australia after being granted visas.

Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said the arrival of the first group of refugees followed the government's commitment late last year to reassess the Afghani asylum seekers on the island

Senator Vanstone said the remaining one hundred and eleven Afghan refugees on Nauru were expected to be resettled in Australia in coming weeks.