Christian refugee advocates have called on the Federal Government to resettle men being held in detention on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea “in a manner befitting a first world country as Australia”.
The call comes in the wake of a decision by Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court in which it ruled that the detention of the men on Manus Island breached the constitutional right of asylum seekers to personal liberty and ordered the Australian and PNG Governments to immediately cease the “unconstitutional and illegal” detention of asylum seekers on the island.
Misha Coleman, executive officer of the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce, says the PNG decision “effectively gives political coverage to (Australian Prime Minister) Malcolm Turnbull to process and resettle these desperate young men in a manner befitting a first world country as Australia”.
“To keep these guys locked up for three years, or to release them to fend for themselves in a country like PNG which has so many problems including severe drought, is intolerable to decent Australians,” she said.
Referring to a Four Corners programme aired on ABC TV earlier this week, she said the show exposed “that these poor souls are being treated like animals in the Manus camp” at a cost of $1 billion to the Australian taxpayer. “It’s a national disgrace and the PNG Supreme Court has recognised that.”
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has said the decision “does not alter Australia’s border protection policies”. “No one who attempts to travel to Australia illegally by boat will settle in Australia,” he said.