New Zealand's Internal Affairs Minister, Peter Dunne, has lashed the Australian government for its treatment of detainees, comparing Australia's detention system to Guantanamo Bay.
"Australia's leaders keep telling us in New Zealand that we are family. But Australia is treating people in its detention camps - in the main New Zealanders awaiting deportation - in a way that is appalling," said Mr Dunne, who leads the United Future Party. 
Mr Dunne's extraordinary attack came as Australia's Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton, dramatically increased his estimate of the cost of damage caused by the Christmas Island detention centre riot, saying it will cost closer to $10 million to fix, as he confirmed more detainees involved in the unrest will be removed from the island.
In the aftermath of the riot the government had estimated the repairs to destroyed equipment and common areas, smashed windows and burnt out parts of the centre would cost more than $1 million.
But Mr Dutton told 2GB broadcaster Ray Hadley on Thursday that assessments of the damage now suggested a much higher figure.
"The initial figure that we looked at in the opening hours was over a million dollars. The figure that I was advised of yesterday and ... again they're still doing the assessment, the figure is closer to $10 million worth of damage," Mr Dutton said.
"If people want to think that this is the sort of damage that's been committed by somebody that's been involved in shoplifting and minor traffic offences, it just shows how wrong they are."
He said the government would also be looking closely at private security contractor Serco and what had caused the riot after the death of Iranian Kurd asylum seeker Fazel Chegeni.
"They've [Serco] got a contract to perform and the commissioner obviously of the Australian Border Force and secretary of my department are looking very closely at what went wrong and why there was a failure, which clearly there was," he said.
Attacking Australia over its detention centres in an opinion piece for Fairfax Media, Mr Dunne said most New Zealanders would be "far from comfortable" with people being held captive on offshore islands.
He said the people who were in detention after having their visas revoked under section 501 of Australia's Migration Act were now "worse off than when they were in prison".
"The modern concentration camp approach Australia has taken is simply wrong. It was wrong when the British tried it in Northern Ireland in the 1970s; it is wrong in Guantanamo Bay, or in Israel today. Australia is no different."
Five New Zealanders were among seven detainees transferred from Christmas Island to a correctional facility in Western Australian on Wednesday afternoon.
The inmates were described as a group of "extreme risk individuals who are alleged to have been involved in the disturbance at the centre".
Mr Dutton said on Thursday that an inmate from Afghanistan and another from Tonga were also among the group and others were expected to be removed from the island at a later time.
Comment was sought from Mr Dutton in response to Mr Dunne's remarks.
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