Manus

Acting provincial police commander Senior Inspector David Yapu said three of them are remandees awaiting their cases in court, while one was convicted for escaping.

PPC Yapu has appealed to those escapees to surrender to police and CS or Police will go out and hunt them.

He said one of the men; Lester Sevua surrendered to police last week Friday (Jan 6.)

He was arrested and charged with sexual penetration and was remanded, awaiting court when he escaped. He is expected to be slapped with another charge for escaping.

Three of the inmates are still at large.

This Pacific Environment Community Fund project is the first of its kind in the country that aims to ensure islanders have access to a sustainable and reliable water supply system.

Six solar powered desalination plants have been successfully installed and commissioned on Bipi which produces a total water capacity of 720L per hour.

“That’s equivalent of 4,320 litres per day of fresh desalinated drinking water,” says Project manager Tom Anayabere.

The local MP expressed anger at the way the victim in the alleged incident was treated, calling on authorities to have the three Australians brought back into the country.

The three Australians worked at the Regional Processing Center in Lombrum as security guards when they allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted a local woman who was an employee of Transfield on the night of July 15 last year.

UNHCR's regional representative Thomas Albrecht said Australia should offer protection and respect to people arriving by boat.

He said the basic human right of every person to seek asylum from persecution is not diminished by their mode of arrival.

Mr Albrecht said those forced to flee persecution need and deserve conducive conditions of protection, and a sustainable long-term solution.

Meanwhile, the Australia-based Human Rights Law Centre says Canberra's proposed ban could affect 320 refugees already living there.

This technology will see solar-powered seawater desalination plant systems installed on identified islands which will convert salt water to fresh drinking water and is funded by the Pacific Environment Community. 

The Sojitz engineers from Japan’s Toray Industry, the manufacturers of the desalination plant arrived in Lorengau on Sunday, Oct 23.  

This team replaced the first team that has been in Manus since May when the project was launched on Bipi Island.

Project manager Tom Anayabere, when giving an update on the progress of the project that was launched in May this year said the expected completion of the project is scheduled for Dec 31 this year.

He said eleven 20-foot shipping containers containing all Solar powered desalination plants equipment and machineries have arrived in Lorengau.

Ian Molloy, lawyer representing Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Rimbink Pato as well as the Chief Migration officer, Mataio Rabura, moved the application today asking the high court to halt the inquiry on grounds it was not proper.

Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia said the inquiry will proceed and told parties to provide details of an Australian Government representative who will later be asked to give a statement to the court. This is to show where the Australian Government is in terms of orders issued in April to shut down the asylum processing centre in Manus.

This includes the high cost of air fares and the lack of tourism infrastructure in the province.

Minister for Trade Commerce and Industry, Richard Maru revealed this when officially opening a 3 days Seminar on Tourism in Manus Province recently.

Maru was invited by the Manus Provincial Government to officiate at this Tourism seminar for him to specifically speak on the impact of the closure of the Asylum Seekers Processing Centre on local SME’s and the unemployment rate that will be caused as a result of the closure of the center.

Officers from Sojitz Corporation (contractors), the engineers of the seawater source well sites, staff from Department of National Planning & Monitoring and the national project manager of the PEC (Pacific Environment Community) fund desalination project, Tom Anayabere were welcomed into Bipi on Thursday.

They were greeted by dancers on the beachfront before a traditional washing of their faces was done to ward off evil spirits.

 The first drill test took place that same afternoon at one of the identified beach well site before it was completed with PVC conduit.

As protests at the other Australian-run detention centre on Nauru enter day 56, those in the Manus Island centre have holding signs and chanting "Freedom, Freedom" and "This place is illegal".

The centre in PNG was ruled unconstitutional by the country's Supreme Court, prompting the Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill, to vow to close it.

However the Australian authorities said this might take some time and repeated that the refugees and asylum seekers would never go to Australia.