Nicole Hasham SMH
Environment and immigration
correspondent
The
Manus Island detention centre is a "problem" that has done more
damage to Papua New Guinea's reputation than any other factor, the nation's
Prime Minister Peter O'Neill says, saying the facility must eventually close.
Speaking
at the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday, Mr O'Neill also said his
government could not afford to resettle those found to be genuine refugees,
fuelling concern that vulnerable men on the island will continue to languish
with an uncertain future.
The
Turnbull government is responsible for meeting the costs of detention and
resettlement at the Manus Island facility, which houses single men.
As Fairfax Media reported last month, more than 60 refugees live in limbo at the Manus Island transit centre at Lorengau, while more than 900 are in their third year at the detention centre. More than half of those in detention have been found to be refugees.
Mr O'Neill said the refugee centre was "a problem" he inherited from the former PNG government.
"We
have issues about cost of the resettlement, who is going to pay for it,"
he said.
"Certainly
[the] Papua New Guinea government does not have the resources to resettle the
refugees as required but we will play our role in making sure … those who've
got the skills and are able to work can be allowed to work in our
communities."
As
previously reported, one of the first refugees to be resettled in PNG, in the
city of Lae, pleaded to be returned to Manus Island, saying life in limbo was
better than his new life of fear, loneliness and poverty.
Asked
about the effect of the detention facility on his country's international
standing, Mr O'Neill said it had "done a lot more damage for PNG than
anything else" and his communities "have been accused of many
things".
There
have been reports of refugees and asylum seekers at Manus Island being
threatened by locals outside the centre, and others have questioned the
suitability of settling refugees in PNG, which suffers high levels of violence.
Mr
O'Neill said refugees at Manus Island "have been well looked-after".
"Most
of them are engaging very well with our communities in Manus. Manus has some of
the loveliest people in the world," he said.
He
added that the centre should eventually be shut down.
"At
some stage of course we need to close the centre, these people cannot remain in
Manus forever. We need to make a determination where they should go."
The
Turnbull government has refused to accept refugees from Manus Island and Nauru,
and very few refugees have taken up the offer of resettlement in Cambodia.
Australia
is reportedly in negotiations with Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia to
resettle refugees in those nations.
Immigration
Minister Peter Dutton sought to blame Mr O'Neill's sentiments on unsympathetic
media and those hostile to the government's asylum seeker stance.
"PNG
and Nauru have been unfairly vilified by advocates, including by some parts of
the media, because of their opposition to our secure borders policy. It is
unfair and the targeting of our regional partners should stop," he said.
The
PNG government dragged its feet on developing a resettlement policy, prompting
previous accusations from Labor that the Australian government had mismanaged
the important bilateral relationship and failed to actively engage with the
nation.
Greens
immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said on Thursday the Manus Island
centre should be shut down, and the Turnbull government "has no exit
strategy" from offshore detention.
"Clearly
Prime Minister O'Neill is sick of his country being used by the Liberal
Government in this way …the Liberal Government has no idea how to get out of
its offshore detention mess and that is very concerning," she said.
She
called for a "fair and efficient regional system" to quickly process
asylum claims, and for refugees to be brought to Australia.
The
debate came as Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop announced her
government would expand its diplomatic presence in PNG by establishing an
Australian consulate-general in Lae, the nation's commercial capital.
It
would "bolster the growing trade and investment relationship between the
two countries" and support the delivery of Australia's $554.5 million aid
investment in PNG.
Ms
Bishop said it followed positive discussions at the Australia-PNG Ministerial
Forum, where "we agreed on a concrete plan to strengthen our bilateral
relationship
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