Last kids leave Nauru

THE last four children living in Australia’s asylum seeker processing centre on Nauru have been flown to the US for resettlement.

The children left the island country with their families on Wednesday afternoon. Immigration Minister David Coleman said they were the last of 2000 children living in detention when the Coalition formed government in 2013.

“We got them all out,” he said yesterday.

“This is something the government has been working on for some time, quietly and in a way that would not impact our border protection policies.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was pleasing to have been able to achieve this.

“The only way you can ensure that children don’t go back on Nauru is to ensure that your border protection regime is not compromised and that you do not allow vessels to illegally enter Australia with children on board,” he said in Sydney.

The departure of the children and their families brings the total number of refugees to have been resettled in the US under a deal with Australia to 493.

Another 265 refugees have been assessed but rejected by the US under its extreme vetting policy.

At the moment, 394 asylum seekers remain on Nauru and 580 on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island.