The court ruling finding Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) detention of asylum seekers illegal was an inevitable decision, the MP for Manus Island says.
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The Pacific island nation’s ruling on Tuesday could jeopardize Australia’s divisive policy of refusing to accept any asylum seekers who try to reach its shores by boat.
In the decision, which casts uncertainty over a key site of Australia’s offshore processing regime, the court told both the Australian and PNG governments to “forthwith take all steps necessary to cease and prevent the continued unconstitutional and illegal detention of the asylum seekers” and the continued breach of their constitutional and human rights.
John Howard, a former conservative prime minister, opened the detention center on Manus Island in 2001 as part of a policy created to redirect asylum seekers to neighboring nations. “Those found not to be refugees should return to their country of origin”.
“It is the people’s law, that the government of this country, whether it is the government of today or government of tomorrow or the government of future years”, Mr. Heano said.
He said the original agreement Labor struck did not intend for Manus Island to be “a punitive place of indefinite detention” and claimed the government had failed to properly manage its offshore processing network after three years in office. Unlike on Nauru, there are no women and children. A detention centre on Nauru Island houses approximately 500 people, according to Reuters.
Refugee Council of Australia CEO Paul Power said the government must respect the judgement laid down in PNG. Dutton said if those held in the center were found to be refugees, they would have the chance to start new lives in PNG, but not in Australia.
Australia’s asylum seeker policy has attracted global criticism from human rights groups.
Amnesty International, in its 2015/16 assessment of human rights in Australia, includes an accusation by Indonesian officials that the Australian government paid people smugglers to return a boat of Indonesian asylum seekers back to the country. “They did not enter PNG and do not remain in PNG on their own accord”.
The decision means that both refugees and asylum seekers are being illegally detained on the island because their freedom of movement is curtailed.
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“It’s time for the Manus detention centre to be closed once and for all”.
