Cabinet documents 2002: Howard government's Christmas Island detention centre plans raised alarm

And any policy decision would need to have tough optics to ensure it was a deterrent, not a magnet, one top minister said.

Few in that room could have foreseen the site wouldn't be built until 2008 - after the Coalition was voted out - only to be closed down a decade later.

But the warning signs were all there, thanks to input by a number of key departments and an independent report as revealed in cabinet papers from 2002 released on Sunday.

Then-immigration minister Phillip Ruddock spearheaded the Howard government's plans to fast-track a long-term detention solution on Christmas Island announcing in March 2002 an ambitious plan to build the site in just 39 weeks.

Six months later, reality sunk in when industry knocked back the government's expedited construction timeline, forcing cabinet back to the drawing board.

Red crab migration, monsoonal weather and the island's limited facilities and resources all made the task nearly impossible and attracted high premiums.

Deals had already been made with Nauru and Papua New Guinea to expand how many intercepted boat arrivals they could house with Nauru agreeing to 300 more places while Papua New Guinea boosted spots from 100 to 1000.

A still unreleased paper, referenced in released cabinet submissions, had also noted a drop in the number of boats arriving.

Mr Ruddock, however, was still determined to create a longer-term facility the federal government could have full control over, no matter the cost.

In his September submission to cabinet, the senior minister recommended an 800-place facility be built on the island with an extra 400 "contingency" places for a total of $242 million with a $36 million contingency fund.

Due to the delays, it could be built by May 2004 at the earliest and would take a minimum of around 80 weeks to build.

The costs soared due to a series of factors, including construction delays, shipping and port constraints and weather conditions.

There was also concern about the facility's impact on a proposed spaceport to be built by the Russian government.

Mr Ruddock also insisted the detention centre, while not meant to be punitive, be closed off from the rest of the island's community with its own security and medical facilities.

"Under the Migration Act 1958, unlawful non-citizens on Christmas Island may be detained and I believe they should be," his submission said.

"I am opposed to allowing free movement on the island. It would result in easy access between unauthorised arrivals, the media and others. It would contaminate the application process. It would invite attempts by group to smuggle them to the mainland.

"I remain firmly of the view that unauthorised arrivals must be detained with a level of security commensurate with that on the mainland. Anything less, could result in Christmas Island being seen as a magnet than a deterrent."

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But bureaucrats consulted on the submission were less enthused by the government's expensive plans.

The delays and substantial increase in costs were certainly noticed by involved agencies.

The federal government's central agency, Prime Minister and Cabinet, said it was concerned by the "very high" costs but said the project was vital to support to offshore detention policy.

While Mr Ruddock conceded it was "clearly more expensive than anyone anticipated", he said extra funding was essential if the Christmas Island proposal was to go ahead.

Treasury and Finance also highlighted the significant increase in cost over the short period with the latter calling on cabinet to halt plans and undertake a month-long review about whether the facility was needed, where it could be located and how big it should be.

The Employment and Workplace Relations Department questioned the need for a multi-million dollar facility housing more than 300 asylum seekers, calling the revised and expanded options Mr Ruddock put forward "surprising" and "not convincing".

"The department questions the need for additional places on Christmas Island given the absence of arrivals of boat asylum seekers in recent times and the scope to continue to accommodate asylum seekers in Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea," its response said.

With plans revised a number of times more over the years, an 800-place detention centre was finally built and opened in 2008.

It would house nearly 3000 detainees at its peak in the 10 years it remained in operation.

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