More than 400 asylum-seekers have left the processing centre at Manus in Papua New Guinea, to return to their home countries.
And 129 people deemed to be genuine refugees are being offered the opportunity to live in PNG, but most are still awaiting resettlement. PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill revealed the figures in a speech at the Lowy Institute in Sydney Thursday. Australian Customs and Border Protection said there were 971 asylum-seekers at the Manus centre at the start of this month. O’Neill said his country “has played an important part in stemming people-smuggling in our region. This dangerous trade has cost countless lives lost at sea. “There has been so much negative news about asylum-seekers in Australia, which is rebroadcast in PNG, that there is concern about refugees coming to live in our communities.” The PNG government is undertaking “extensive public awareness and stakeholder engagement in areas where refugees will be resettled … to remove the stigma”, O’Neill said. “It is also important that refugees are taught our language and cultures so they are aware of their obligations when they live within our communities … They will bring skills and experience that will be of value to our nation-building,” and so they would be resettled “very soon”. O’Neill said despite a 5 per cent cut in aid in the budget just handed down, his government “understands the budgetary constraints faced by Australia, and we will sit down and work with the government to reprioritise the development program”. However, he said “we were shocked to learn” from the budget “that the Australian government plans to establish a diplomatic post on Bougainville … an integral part of PNG, around which there are clear historical sensitivities”, and where an election is under way, followed by a referendum on independence within five years. He said there had been no consultation, and thus no agreement to proceed. A spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Bishop had discussed the proposal with the PNG government during her December visit, and high commissioner Deborah Stokes had advised Port Moresby “of the intention to announce a diplomatic presence in Buka … in the lead-up to the budget.” O’Neill responded to Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama’s recent statement he would refuse to attend the next Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ summit in PNG in mid-September, demanding Australia and New Zealand quit or be forced out of the organisation: “As far as PNG is concerned there is no requirement for a change in the structure of the membership.”. SOURCE: THE AUSTRALIAN
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