Nauru: Guano, and Aussie gov't bullshit

Constitution Day, Nauru
This holiday commemorates the May 17, 1968, amendments to the constitution of this tiny Pacific nation, which established a republic with a parliamentary system of government.

Goodbye guano ‘goldmine’
Nauru is the world’s smallest independent republic, and its richest. Boasting only about 14 square kilometres, it is largely composed of phosphates, the product of centuries of bird droppings. The mineral is a valuable ingredient of fertilizers such as superphosphate, and consequently the island’s 10,000 people each receives the financial benefits that accrue - nearly $US31,000 per citizen in 1974.

Unfortunately for the citizens, the deposits are all but mined out and the nation is bankrupt, yet another victim of globalization and putting profit before sustainable economics. Soon will only be a memory the ‘goldmine’ that gave Nauru one of the world’s highest rates of car ownership - with only one road to drive the cars on.

The Australian government has bribed Nauru with millions of dollars to imprison asylum-seeking men, women and children who show up on Australia’s shores: the so-called 'Pacific Solution' to a problem involving people fleeing persecution ...

Australia detains asylum seekers on remote Nauru and Christmas Island, and warehouses refugees and asylum seekers in Indonesia for years. Nauru Wire is about their struggle against deportation to countries where they fear persecution. Australia's thrown away 'boat people' urgently need fair refugee assessments by DIMIA and the UNHCR ...

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