The Wire

The future of Christmas Island as an off shore detention centre could be under threat, as the tiny island struggles to accommodate the increased number of asylum seekers. Shire President Gordon Thomson says that if the numbers of refugees arriving by boat keep rising as predicted, the government will need to re-think how to maintain food supply on the island. His comments coincide with the arrival of the 20th boat this year, with a further 73 refugees to accommodate on the island. After the Rudd government closed down Nauru as a detention centre, Christmas Island replaced it as the facility where all refugees arriving by boat are processed.