Hanson-Young racist to Nauru: Lib senator

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has been accused of racism against Nauru.

The senator, debating her private bill to amend the Migration Act and allow asylum-seeker babies born in Australia to remain here, said Nauru was unsafe for children amid allegations of sexual assault and self-harm.

Liberal senator Ian Macdonald said it was "racist in the extreme" to allege Nauru was a second-rate country without decent facilities.