Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill confirmed that he has approved the re-opening of the Manus Island detention centre to accept asylum seekers from Australia.
Prime Minister Peter O'Neill says that the centre will be managed and paid for by the Australian Government. He says that the details of the arrangement, such as how many people will be sent to the island, are yet to be finalized. It is up to the Australian Government to determine how soon the centre can open.
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says it will be at least several weeks before asylum seekers can be sent to Manus Island as facilities need to be upgraded.
The government has been under pressure to find a second regional offshore processing point, especially as the arrangement with Kuala Lumpur is limited to 800 asylum seekers and the High Court has challenged whether unaccompanied minors can be sent to the Malaysian country as it has not signed the UN convention to protect the rights of refugees.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says a memorandum of understanding will soon be signed on the Manus Island centre. Earlier she said the Government's Malaysian solution would continue despite Papua New Guinea's offer to house asylum seekers.
"We're determined to deliver the Malaysia arrangement and that is before the High Court now," she said.
Mr. Bowen says the arrangement to send asylum seekers to Manus Island for processing will complement the government's refugee swap deal with Malaysia.
He also gave a message for those asylum seekers who are thinking of coming to Australia: "You may be sent to Malaysia or Papua New Guinea, but you're not going to be processed in Australia.”
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