Both really look amazing !!!!

^agreed

I'd also love to go to both.

both look like a pretty place to go to.

Yes, both!

^

At one point I really wanted to go there, but never managed

There are so many of those places for me...

Definitely. The Pacific islands don't interest me much.

I'm not as much into them as I am Europe and Asia but I still think that they're cool.

Unfortunately Nauru, though once beautiful, has been absolutely devastated due to unrestricted corporatism – environmentally, economically and socially.

Throughout the 70s and 80s, they were letting corporations mine their phosphate reserves with absolutely no environmental protections in place and very little tax. It was the second-wealthiest nation in the world (in GDP/capita) at its peak, second only to Saudi Arabia.

Then the phosphate reserves ran out. Now, 80% of the island is literally a stripped, barren wasteland that is uninhabitable for flora/fauna and humans alike. It looks like link. Wanna head to the beach instead? 40% of the marine life has been killed by silt and run-off. There’s no money anymore – they didn’t set up a public fund during the mining boom, coz ya know, that would've taken a few cents per dollar from the corporations. A quarter of the population are currently unemployed.

They rely utterly on Australian aid money to survive, and in return, we dump our refugees and asylum seekers there in what are basically prison camps (in violation of international law and our own treaties). It’s been described as one of the worst refugee-processing facilities in the world, and people are held there indefinitely, for years and years on end with no release date in sight, in terrible conditions. This currently includes dozens of children, with reports of suicide attempts and self-harm in kids as young as eight years old. Last year, it was revealed that at least thirty children have suffered something called ‘resignation syndrome’: a deteriorating psychiatric condition where the person eventually becomes unresponsive and the body can begin to shut down.

Australia’s activities in Nauru is one of the biggest shames in our history.

I wouldn’t go except on a trip to see the conditions in the camps for myself, except this is prohibited even to top-tier journalists because our government wants to keep it all hidden and not be held accountable.
If you want to read more, link: ‘Nauru, From Economic Goldmine to Refugee Hell’

I’m sorry for such an intense comment on an otherwise light-hearted poll, but I really believe that more people around the world should know of our international crimes. Particularly when Australia is portrayed in world media as an easy-going, friendly nation… it is not, but many Australians are trying their damndest to fix it.

^ Oh wow, that's crazy. And a damn shame too. I feel like issues like these are never talked about enough; I've never even heard about this until now.

Jesus!! It’s way too far from my country xD I’ll go in a heartbeat xD