The Australian government has vowed to speed up the extradition of asylum seekers behind a series of arson attacks on refugee detention centres across the country.
In the most recent attack today, asylum seekers burned a dining room and took over a compound at Christmas Island detention centre as part of a wave of arson protests by failed refugee applicants.
It followed earlier arson protests at the Woomera and Baxter centres in South Australia and Western Australia's Port Hedland centre.
The Christmas Island compound houses 45 detainees who had all had their applications for refugee status refused.
Officials put the damage bill from the four fires at detention centres at more than eight million dollars (€5.5 million approximately).
Prime Minister John Howard blamed the fires on asylum seekers - mainly from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan -- whose applications for refugee status were rejected and stood by his government's policy of mandatory detention of immigrants who arrive in Australia illegally.
"I don't accept there is a crisis," Mr Howard said on ABC radio.
"There is a lot of unrest from people who are, I guess, protesting against judgements made that they're not entitled to stay in this country. This is something that we're not going to allow to alter our policies."
The Christmas Island disturbance began this afternoon, following five days of protests that have reduced to ashes large parts of three detention centres at outback locations on the Australian mainland.
AFP