We still have to take them, no matter what the cost, IF and only...

We still have to take them, no matter what the cost, IF and only if they are Australian citizens and not citizens of another country.

We have to.

If someone from another country committed a serious crime here, we would expect them to be deported immediately after they served their sentence.

Same applies here. We cannot leave these citizens for another country to deal with.

As unpalatable as it is, we have no choice but to do the right thing.