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Political parties and human rights groups have blasted "secrecy" over the Albanese government's deal to send hundreds of former detainees to Nauru following the first deportation to the Pacific island. Little is known about the arrival of the first member of the so-called NZYQ cohort, revealed in Nauru's parliament by President David Adeang last Friday. It is not clear how many members of the about 350 non-citizens released into the community following a High Court ruling that their indefinite detention was unlawful are set to arrive in Nauru in the coming months, or whether a $408 million payment scheduled to be paid to Nauru once the first deportee arrived has been made. Immigration Minister Tony Burke declined to say how many of the cohort had been issued Nauruan visas, or what the government expected the cost of the deal — which could reach as high as $2.5 billion depending on the number of deportees sent to Nauru — would end up being. He instead issued a two-line statement, noting that Nauru had confirmed the first transfer had occurred and stated that "when someone's visa is cancelled they should leave". Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jonathon Duniam said the government, which had repeatedly refused to publicly release the 30-year agreement it signed with Nauru in August, needed to provide more answers so people could judge whether the deal represented good value. "We've got to do what's in Australia's interests and I think protecting Australians from people who may cause harm is central to Australia's role here," he said. "On the face of it, that looks like what this deal does, but we don't have the detail, what are the safeguards, what protections are there, and what ongoing commitments do we have." Greens senator David Shoebridge said the government was "being as transparent as a brick". "We don't know where these people are being sent on Nauru," he said. "We don't know if they're going to have long-term protection. "The reason we need to see the MOU [memorandum of understanding] is not only to test what $2.5 billion of public money is being spent on, but to see if the government's assertions about protections are true. "We've asked if it contains protections under the refugee convention, if it contains protections under other international obligations, and all we've got is a brick wall of silence from the government. We can get an answer to those questions only when they produce the documentation." Rights groups raise concerns Asylum Seeker Resource Centre deputy chief executive Jana Favero said she had serious concerns about the lack of detail, particularly around the long-term living arrangements of the deportees. "We do know that people who have been transferred previously, those are people who have arrived seeking asylum who are currently on Nauru, are reporting to us that they don't have enough food to eat, that the health care is insufficient and their human rights aren't being upheld," she said. "I acknowledge that Mr Burke has said that conditions are excellent in his eyes but, with absolutely no transparency around it, no-one to visit, you have to pay $8,000 just to apply for a visa. It's impossible to know exactly what the conditions are." Mr Burke told Insiders on October 19 that he had personally inspected the accommodation and health facilities on Nauru, saying the standard was "good and way beyond what some of the speculation about the health standards has been". Laura John from the Human Rights Law Centre said the government had repeatedly refused to answer questions about the people facing deportation, including whether they had family in Nauru or what would happen if they required medical attention that was not available in Nauru. She said the centre would do what it could to prevent further deportations, but said "implementation plans that have been shrouded in secrecy from the outset" meant doing so, and ensuring members of the cohort had sufficient legal representation, was "extremely difficult". "We know that there are people being targeted in this group that still have visa appeals options available to them, so we'll be considering every option possible because no-one should be permanently exiled from their home in Australia." Mr Burke has repeatedly defended the arrangement, saying the government should have the option to ensure that people who do not have a valid visa cannot remain in the country.
