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Australia agrees to pay A$70m to Manus Island detainees | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The Australian government and its contractors have offered compensation totalling A$70m (£41m, $53m) to refugees detained in Papua New Guinea. | |
The 1,905 claimants had alleged they suffered harm while being held on PNG's Manus Island between 2012 and 2016. | |
The government said it "strongly denied" the allegations but that settling was a "prudent" decision. | |
Australia turns away any refugees and asylum seekers arriving by boat and sends them to PNG and Nauru. | |
The claim was due to be heard in the Victoria Supreme Court on Wednesday. | The claim was due to be heard in the Victoria Supreme Court on Wednesday. |
But shortly before the trial began, lawyers for the claimants said the government and its service providers had offered a last minute settlement of A$70m. | |
They also offered to cover costs estimated to be more than A$20m. | |
The full details of the settlement and the financial package are yet to be fully approved by the court. | |
What next for Manus Island asylum seekers? | What next for Manus Island asylum seekers? |
Australia asylum: Why is it controversial? | Australia asylum: Why is it controversial? |
Principal lawyer Andrew Baker said the settlement would "help [the claimants] put this dark chapter of their lives behind them". | |
Australia's immigration minister Peter Dutton said in a statement that the government "strongly refutes and denies the claims made in these proceedings". | |
He added that if the case had gone to trial, it would have cost "tens of millions of dollars in legal fees alone, with an unknown outcome", and the government decided a settlement was a "prudent outcome for Australian taxpayers". | |
Australia has already said it plans to close the Manus Island centre but it remains unclear when that will happen. | |
It is also unclear what will happened to the remaining residents, but Australia has insisted that no-one held there will ever be re-settled in Australia. | |
As of last year, residents were allowed to freely come and go from the facility. | |
Australia says its policy on boat arrivals is intended to undermine the people-trafficking trade and prevent migrants from attempting the life-threatening journey to its shores. | |
But it has been heavily criticised both at home and internationally, including by the United Nations. | But it has been heavily criticised both at home and internationally, including by the United Nations. |