Australia was unable to send air support for a court-ordered medical transfer of a refugee to Nauru after the Nauruan government refused permission due to unwillingness to compromise the regional processing ties, a senior official said, in the latest concern regarding refugees under Australia's purview.
Similar cases were seen in recent weeks when Nauru refused to allow Australia to send urgent medical care via air ambulances for the refugees, ignoring court orders and doctor's recommendations.
However, a federal court judge said that the ongoing issue is Australia's problem because it established offshore processing for refugees in the first place.
A series of Australian court cases have described how some of the refugee children on Nauru have been evacuated because they were suffering from resignation syndrome, a medical condition in which they withdraw socially and stop eating and drinking. Nauru's government claims the children have been manipulated into self-harm by their families and activists in a bid to get to Australia and make headlines.
Many ongoing cases have added to concerns over issues with healthcare. In one case, refusal for Australia to provide healthcare to one of its refugees known as 'ELF18' was not deemed serious enough by Barina Waqa, secretary for multicultural affairs in Nauru.
Australian Border Force (ABF) technically breached the order as it did not defy the refusal, stating that "a non-scheduled landing without approval from the government of Nauru would be unlawful."
Vanessa Holben, assistant commission for ABF's detention and offshore operations command said, "In the basis of my experience in dealing with regional processing matters, I consider that such actions would have significantly adverse consequences in terms of the ongoing working relationship between the commonwealth and the government of Nauru in relation to regional processing."
According to Holben, they couldn't get the necessary approval from Waqa who insisted that the case should be transferred overseas for medical evaluation, refusing any sort of air ambulance services from the Australian government.
Australia designed a policy of keeping boat refugees and asylum seekers far from its shores to deter more of them from trying to make the voyage, but many critics say the policy violates human rights.
For years, Nauru has effectively prevented most journalists from reporting firsthand by charging 8,000 Australian dollars ($5,750) to apply for a media visa. Nauru has waived the fee for the forum, but has allowed only a handful of journalists and placed restrictions on them. Many of the more than 600 refugees on the island describe the hopelessness and depression they feel after being stuck in limbo for up to five years. They say they're not accepted by the locals, and that many of their children don't attend island schools because they are bullied or made to feel unwelcome.
Guardian Australia revealed on Saturday the Australian government spent more than $320,000 responding to court applications for urgent medical transfers, and it was expected this year's costs would be far higher amid a worsening health crisis.
