Regional Processing Center

Minister Rimbink Pato, in responding to a series of questions without notice from Rabaul MP Dr. Allan Marat, said “the management of the refugee resettlement facility is not in a mess”.

He added that it is “professionally managed by competent people from within our Immigration and Citizenship Services Authority with the support of the Australian Government, United Nations agencies, including the International Office of Migration, which is looking at repatriation and resettlement of a number of asylum refugees”.

Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia told lawyer representing the Chief Migration officer and Minister for Immigration, Laias Kandi, to produce a list of all transferees to Manus. The list should indicate their names, individual status of each transferee and also the date they arrived in Manus.

The instructions came from the Chief Justice as a way forward to see if any steps have been taken in adhering to court orders issued on April 26, which was in the Namah-filed Supreme Court reference regarding the regional processing centre.

Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia yesterday afternoon granted the joinder of all asylum seekers who are parties to two proceedings currently before the Supreme Court.  

Although the orders issued yesterday cover those who are part of the cases as parties, the case filed by Namah covers over 900 transferees who were brought to PNG against their will to be processed in Manus. 

Lawyer representing 300 of those asylum seekers, who are part of the two court cases, was in court yesterday when the orders were granted.