Australia has rejected all US requests so far to resettle detainees from Guantanamo Bay, the most recent being last night, deputy prime minister Julia Gillard said today.
A request to resettle a group of prisoners from the military prison camp in Cuba was made last month by the outgoing administration of president George W. Bush, Ms Gillard told reporters in Melbourne.
It was the second such request and was rejected last night, she said.
"Those resettlement requests have been considered on a case-by-case basis, against our stringent national security and immigration criteria," said Ms Gillard, who temporarily heads the government while prime minister Kevin Rudd is on leave.
"Assessing those requests from a case-by-case basis, they had not met our stringent national security and immigration criteria and have been rejected."
About 255 men are still held at Guantanamo, including 60 the United States has cleared for release but cannot repatriate for fear they will be tortured or persecuted in their home countries.
The US State Department last week asked around 100 countries for help clearing the camp of detainees over a two-year period, the Australian newspaper reported.
Australia's opposition yesterday strongly criticised the government for considering any requests to accept Guantanamo Bay detainees.