Five refugees have been identified from the Regional Processing Centre in Manus to undergo a test case of resettlement in PNG.
The Supreme Court was given the names of the refugees as well as their statements this morning when the inquiry returned before Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia.
All five refugees have refused to be resettled in PNG, which they said in their statements that were provided before the court today.
The test case is purposely to ascertain reasons why the refugees do not want to resettle in the country; issues which the court will identify during the discussion stage of this inquiry.
Those identified are from different countries and will undergo the resettlement test case exercise.
Their lawyer, Ben Lomai, explained that those selected for the test case are those who can speak fluent English and express themselves openly.
Their statements given to court today are in accordance to directions issued by the court on July 18.
Ian Molloy, lawyer representing Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Rimbink Pato, as well as the chief migration officer Mataio Rabura, said today that two statements will be produced to the court from the two deputy migration officers.
This test case is part of an inquiry into the status of the orders issued by the Supreme Court in Namah’s case on April 26.
After three years in detention, 1,010 transferees, now called residents, have been in Manus as of April 26. This was when the five-man Supreme Court bench found the Regional Processing Centre unconstitutional and illegal, ordering a cease of operation there.
As of Friday, July 15, 636 transferees (residents) in Manus have been given refugee status, 128 have been screened and identified as non-refugees while 203 are asylum seekers still being processed.
43 transferees are still in Australia for medical reasons. 13 of those are refugees while 30 are asylum seekers.
Meanwhile, the jurisdiction of the Chief Justice in the inquiry was questioned today by Molloy. The Chief Justice said the orders of the five-man Supreme Court bench are to be enforced and the inquiry is simply a way forward in dealing with the orders issued.
The matter will return to court on August 2.
(Ben Lomai walking out of the courthouse today.)