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| Manus Island detention centre to close, Australia and Papua New Guinea agree | Manus Island detention centre to close, Australia and Papua New Guinea agree |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Australia and Papua New Guinea have agreed to close the Manus Island detention centre, PNG’s prime minister Peter O’Neill has said, but he has offered no detail on the future for the 854 men held there. | Australia and Papua New Guinea have agreed to close the Manus Island detention centre, PNG’s prime minister Peter O’Neill has said, but he has offered no detail on the future for the 854 men held there. |
| O’Neill met with Australia’s immigration minister, Peter Dutton, in Port Moresby on Wednesday, and said, following the meeting, that officials from both countries were making progress on how to close the centre. | O’Neill met with Australia’s immigration minister, Peter Dutton, in Port Moresby on Wednesday, and said, following the meeting, that officials from both countries were making progress on how to close the centre. |
| “Both Papua New Guinea and Australia are in agreement that the centre is to be closed,” O’Neill said in a statement. | |
| O’Neill offered no time frame on the closure and said the process should not be rushed. | |
| Related: European politicians take note: the 'Australian solution' is no solution at all | Nikolas Feith Tan | Related: European politicians take note: the 'Australian solution' is no solution at all | Nikolas Feith Tan |
| “A series of options are being advanced and implemented. This must take into account the interests of the people of Papua New Guinea and the wellbeing of asylum seekers and refugees.” | “A series of options are being advanced and implemented. This must take into account the interests of the people of Papua New Guinea and the wellbeing of asylum seekers and refugees.” |
| Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani, who has been found to be a refugee, but held in the detention centre for more than three years, told the Guardian that the men on Manus were wary of “good news”. | Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani, who has been found to be a refugee, but held in the detention centre for more than three years, told the Guardian that the men on Manus were wary of “good news”. |
| “Yes, they [the men] are surprised, but it’s hard for them that believe in this news. Some of them told me that this news is like other positive news that we heard.” | “Yes, they [the men] are surprised, but it’s hard for them that believe in this news. Some of them told me that this news is like other positive news that we heard.” |
| Boochani said O’Neill’s statement gave the refugees and asylum seekers held on Manus no detail on their futures. | Boochani said O’Neill’s statement gave the refugees and asylum seekers held on Manus no detail on their futures. |
| “They did not mention that when they will close this hell prison. We want to know when exactly we will get freedom and where we will go. This is our right that know about our future. | “They did not mention that when they will close this hell prison. We want to know when exactly we will get freedom and where we will go. This is our right that know about our future. |
| “People are scared to that show they are happy. I remember that PNG supreme court made decision on April and these people were scared to show their happiness, and they are like that time now.” | “People are scared to that show they are happy. I remember that PNG supreme court made decision on April and these people were scared to show their happiness, and they are like that time now.” |
| The future of the Manus detention has been in doubt since the PNG supreme court ruled in April that the detention centre was “illegal and unconstitutional”. | The future of the Manus detention has been in doubt since the PNG supreme court ruled in April that the detention centre was “illegal and unconstitutional”. |
| Following that decision, superficial changes were made to the detention regimen, but the men remain detained still, they live in the same compounds, behind steel fences, and are not free to leave if and when they choose, only on a bus run by the detention centre operators. | Following that decision, superficial changes were made to the detention regimen, but the men remain detained still, they live in the same compounds, behind steel fences, and are not free to leave if and when they choose, only on a bus run by the detention centre operators. |
| A second court challenge to the detention regime – arguing that the detention centre breaches PNG’s constitutional guarantee to liberty – is set to go before the bench of the same court next week, and a judgement is expected quickly. | A second court challenge to the detention regime – arguing that the detention centre breaches PNG’s constitutional guarantee to liberty – is set to go before the bench of the same court next week, and a judgement is expected quickly. |
| O’Neill said yesterday he would uphold the initial court ruling. | O’Neill said yesterday he would uphold the initial court ruling. |
| “The supreme court has delivered its ruling and our government is complying with this decision. I look forward to further updates as the process of closing the centre moves forward.” | “The supreme court has delivered its ruling and our government is complying with this decision. I look forward to further updates as the process of closing the centre moves forward.” |
| Related: The Nauru files: cache of 2,000 leaked reports reveal scale of abuse of children in Australian offshore detention | Related: The Nauru files: cache of 2,000 leaked reports reveal scale of abuse of children in Australian offshore detention |
| Even before the court ruling, O’Neill has wanted to close the detention centre. Visiting Australia in March, he said the Manus detention centre was “a problem” that had “done a lot of damage” and that his country did not have the resources to resettle all the refugees held there. | Even before the court ruling, O’Neill has wanted to close the detention centre. Visiting Australia in March, he said the Manus detention centre was “a problem” that had “done a lot of damage” and that his country did not have the resources to resettle all the refugees held there. |
| Australia’s entire offshore regime has been under unprecedented pressure since the publication of the Nauru Files by the Guardian last week. | Australia’s entire offshore regime has been under unprecedented pressure since the publication of the Nauru Files by the Guardian last week. |
| The publication the files – more than 2,000 leaked incident reports detailing systemic physical and sexual abuses, humiliating treatment and harsh conditions, and widespread self-harm and suicide attempts – has refocused public attention on conditions in detention, sparked calls for a royal commission, and led Labor and the Greens to promise a new Senate inquiry into offshore detention. | The publication the files – more than 2,000 leaked incident reports detailing systemic physical and sexual abuses, humiliating treatment and harsh conditions, and widespread self-harm and suicide attempts – has refocused public attention on conditions in detention, sparked calls for a royal commission, and led Labor and the Greens to promise a new Senate inquiry into offshore detention. |
| The Manus Island detention centre has had a troubled existence since being re-opened in 2012. | |
| In 2014, three days of unrest and an invasion of the detention centre by PNG police and others saw more than 60 asylum seekers seriously injured. One man was shot, another had his throat slit and 23-year-old Reza Barati was murdered by guards who beat him with a nail studded piece of wood, kicked and dropped a rock on his head. | |
| PNG’s supreme court heard up to 15 expatriate and local guards killed Barati. Two local men were convicted of his murder this year. | |
| But the detention centre has also been plagued by consistent allegations of abuse and privation. Rape, physical and sexual assault, and drug abuse are common, the centre’s water supply has failed, and detainees are fed expired food. Suicide attempts and acts of self-harm are common, and some men have alleged they have been beaten and tortured in solitary confinement. | |
| Human Rights Watch Australia director Elaine Pearson said the move to close the Manus detention centre was welcome but “long overdue”. | |
| “These men should immediately be moved to Australia or a safe third country, not simply shunted down the road to a transit centre or moved to Nauru or Cambodia. Nearly a thousand men on Manus have already lost three or more years of their lives locked up in limbo for no good reason. They’ve endured dirty, cramped conditions, inadequate medical care and violence. Finally, it is time to let them move on with their lives in safety and dignity.” | |
| Spokesman for the Refugee Action Coalition Ian Rintoul said he was concerned the PNG and Australian governments were seeking to pre-empt the upcoming supreme court hearing, by suggesting the centre was slated for imminent closure. | |
| “At Monday’s hearing, lawyers for the Manus asylum seekers and refugees will be seeking orders for the unconditional release of all detainee and the return of all of them to Australia. Anything less than the unconditional release and return to Australia will be a denial of justice.”He said the men should be brought to Australia. | |
| “It is sheer bloody-mindedness by the Australian government that has kept these people in detention.” | |
| The Australian government has maintained that no person held on Manus or Nauru will ever be resettled in Australia, arguing it would restart boat journeys of asylum seekers seeking protection in Australia. | The Australian government has maintained that no person held on Manus or Nauru will ever be resettled in Australia, arguing it would restart boat journeys of asylum seekers seeking protection in Australia. |
| “What we we are not going to do is enter into an arrangement that sends a green light to people smugglers,” the immigration minister, Peter Dutton, told ABC’s 7.30 last week in defending offshore processing. “Because we will end up with people drowning at sea again and the vacancies that we create by taking people off Nauru and Manus would quickly be backfilled by new arrivals.” | “What we we are not going to do is enter into an arrangement that sends a green light to people smugglers,” the immigration minister, Peter Dutton, told ABC’s 7.30 last week in defending offshore processing. “Because we will end up with people drowning at sea again and the vacancies that we create by taking people off Nauru and Manus would quickly be backfilled by new arrivals.” |
| Efforts to resettle refugees in PNG have foundered. Barely a handful have been resettled outside the centre and almost all have been forced to return to detention after being assaulted, robbed, and in one case, left homeless in other parts of the country. | Efforts to resettle refugees in PNG have foundered. Barely a handful have been resettled outside the centre and almost all have been forced to return to detention after being assaulted, robbed, and in one case, left homeless in other parts of the country. |