Namah: Not PNG policy

 OPPOSITION leader Belden Namah has described the signing of a new refugee deal with Australia as short-sighted in the context of the country’s foreign policy.

The deal is to process all asylum-seekers in Papua New Guinea.

Namah said there was a difference between the foreign policies of the two countries. 

He accused Prime Minister Peter O’Neill of compromising the country’s sovereignty.

“The off-shore policy for Austra­lia is not our foreign policy. It does not serve our peoples’ interest. Period,” he said. 

“This is a very sensitive issue because it carries with it cross-cutting issues that need collective and constructive dialogue with the 7.5 million people in our country by way of representation through MPs in Parliament,” he said.