A Norfolk Island businessman and former politician, John Brown, says there is still merit in a proposal for Australia to house Nauru's asylum seekers on the island.
Mr Brown and a former Save the Children Fund worker on Nauru, Natasha Blucher, who grew up on Norfolk, made the proposal at the beginning of last year.
The idea was to boost the Norfolk economy and at the same time protect the island's self governing status which Canberra is now in the process of dismantling.
While it was not embraced at the time by either the island's Australian administrator or Norfolk's then political leadership, Mr Brown said it would still benefit all parties.
"If the Norfolk Island community was of a mind to support a proposal along these lines, there is no doubt in my mind that it would massively benefit Australia, it would have economic benefits for Norfolk Island and it would massively benefit those asylum seekers who might be moved to here."
Norfolk Island Photo: AFP
