Nauru detention centre costs $2m per month
Updated
The Federal Government is spending around $2 million per month to operate the immigration detention centre on Nauru.
The facility is currently home to eight detainees.
A Senate Estimates Committee has heard another immigration centre on Manus Island is in a "mothballed state" and is costing taxpayers $3 million per year.
Immigration Department spokesman Bob Correll says the total cost of the two centres comes to more than $27 million per year.
"Our overall projection is around $24 million for Nauru," he said.
"Sorry, I may have mentioned a figure of $27 million on a per-year basis - $27 million included maintenance costs for Manus, and for Nauru alone it's around $24 million."
Confidential negotiations are now under way to determine the future of the eight people still detained on Nauru.
But Mr Correll has told the committee there are no plans to close the facility, despite its high running costs.
Topics: immigration, federal-government, australia, nauru
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