Solo refugee arrives in Australia

Aladdin Sisalem, 25, will land in Cairns before flying to Melbourne late in the afternoon. It is believed Mr Sisalem plans to make Melbourne his permanent home.

On a stopover in Port Moresby, Mr Sisalem thanked Australians who had supported him.

"I don't know how to thank all of the people in Australia who helped me", he told ABC television.

"I don't have enough words to thank them, but I hope I can do something with my life, good for me and good for Australia".

The Kuwait-born Palestinian landed by boat on the Torres Strait island of Saiba on December 21, 2002, and sought asylum with Australian authorities.

He was sent to Papua New Guinea's Manus Island and for the past nine months has been its sole detainee - with the exception of a small staff of guards and cleaners hired to look after him, costing $250,000 a month. He was kept in solitary confinement however and his only access to support was via the internet.

He formed a close friendship with Adelaide man and refugee advocate Matt Hamon who conversed with him daily to "keep him sane".

"I felt a great deal of sympathy for him and wanted to make sure he didn't go crazy in isolation", said Mr Hamon.

Mr Sisalem also befriended a stray cat called Honey and is attempting to get the cat to Australia with him.

However, the cat was not allowed to board tonight's flight with Mr Sisalem from Manus Island to Port Moresby and refugee groups are trying to find a way of bringing Honey safely to Australia to live with him.

Meanwhile, Labor said the federal government was throwing away money on its Pacific solution that could be better used on health services.

Opposition immigration spokesman Stephen Smith said it was ridiculous for the government to keep open the Manus Island detention centre though it no longer housed anyone.

Mr Smith said the Immigration Department had confirmed it was costing $250,000 a month to keep open the detention centre.