The Federal Government's decision to reopen the Curtin Detention Centre in Western Australia has been heavily criticised by refugee support groups.
They call the move "punitive" and an abuse of human rights, and liken the facilities at the RAAF base to a "hell hole".
Curtin was closed eight years ago but now the Government is taking the accommodation - attached to a part-time air base - out of mothballs.
The air base just out of Derby will be used for accommodating single male Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers who have had their claims suspended.
But the decision by Immigration Minister Chris Evans has angered Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition.
"The Government is really putting people in Curtin hoping that they can push them out of sight and out of mind as far as the public is concerned," he said.
"It is a disgraceful step backwards from a government that boasted about the transparency and the humanity in which it was going to treat asylum seekers."
The Curtin facility, which once housed more than 1,000 asylum seekers, was decommissioned in 2002 after riots, reports of violence and detainee mistreatment.
Prior to the centre being closed, up to a third of the centre's 340 detainees engaged in riots, hunger strikes and self harm.
Several staff were injured and thousands of dollars of damage was done to the centre during the riots in April of that year.
Mr Rintoul says the centre's appalling history will only be repeated.
"The very remoteness, the weather, the lack of facilities, the fact that people know when they go there that they are going to be there for at least six months, or potentially longer ... does mean that there is the possibility of more protests, of self harm," he said.
"The problems that were created last time, that are already obvious on Christmas Island - all the mental health problems, all those kind of issues associated with long-term detention - that's what Curtin is going to create."
Return to previous policy?
Former federal Liberal MP Bruce Baird, who is chairman of the Rudd Government's Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council, says the Curtin detention centre is the worst in Australia.
And he says it appears the Rudd Government has moved back to the bad old days of long-term detention.
"We're not terribly far away from the Nauru solution and in terms of the suspension of the processing of the Afghanis and the Sri Lankans, the key difference is in terms of the time limits imposed," he said.
"I think that was the worst factor in terms of the previous regime - the uncertain future - and that caused major psychological problems."
The Refugee Council of Australia has also condemned the move.
"It is a very odd policy choice if what you are seeking is a good policy outcome," spokeswoman Kate Gauthier said.
"It almost appears punitive - a punitive location and decision - it is very difficult to make any other assumption as to why you would choose such a location."
Ms Gauthier says Curtin is not only too far from the capital cities, but it is also too costly and inhumane.
"If these people are coming from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan you can be absolutely sure some of them are torture and trauma survivors who've faced horrific experiences," she said.
"They need to be given good services and very humane accommodation while they wait for this unfortunate halt in the processing of their protection visa claims."
Barnett's doubts
Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett says he does not object to the Curtin facility being used to house asylum seekers, but he says it is a remote place with harsh conditions that are not appropriate for long-term detention.
"Curtin has been used before, and it certainly can be used as an overflow facility to Christmas Island," he said.
"But Curtin is not suitable for as a long-term permanent area for refugees or indeed anyone.
"So if there are plans to do that, I would hope that the Commonwealth would talk to the state about it."
But Derby West Kimberley Shire president Elsia Archer says reopening the detention centre is a good thing.
"The positives are that there can be some business for the town and some work for people if they so want to go and work there," she said.
"Having worked in the last one when it was there, there can be some quite good spin-offs for the shire. They ran a little shop for the resies [residents]."
Ms Archer says the atmosphere was "good" when the centre was open.
"You get your ups and downs in places like that but probably [it was] no different to a prison," she said.
"They did use to have some, I suppose, discontent there, but it wasn't a lot, it wasn't as bad as [the Port] Headland [detention centre]."
When the Coalition was in government, it closed Curtin. Now the Opposition's immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, says the facility should not be reopened.
"They haven't told us what the cost is, they haven't told us why this facility has been chosen and not others," he said.
"And they haven't fessed up to the ultimate issue of why all this is necessary and that's because of the failure of their own policies, which they continue to deny."
The Federal Government says Curtin will have room for up to 300 detainees initially and should be open within weeks.
