Australia has agreed to close a controversial asylum seeker detention centre in Papua New Guinea (PNG). PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said, he met Australia’s immigration minister, Peter Dutton, in Port Moresby yesterday. Both PNG and Australia are in agreement that Manus Island centre is to be closed.
PNG’s Supreme Court found in April that detaining asylum seekers and refugees at the centre was unconstitutional. Mr O’Neill said the Manus Regional Processing Centre, which currently houses 854 men, would not close immediately. He said this must take into account the interests of the people of Papua New Guinea and the wellbeing of asylum seekers and refugees.