No ban on asylum seekers’ transfer to Manus centre

 THERE is no ban on transferring asylum seekers to the regional processing centre in Manus, the Australian department of immigration and citizenship confirmed yesterday.

It was alleged that the ban was imposed in the Australian parliament but the department denied it.

The department said the transfers would continue in close consultation with the PNG government and decisions on the timing of transfers were made on operational grounds.

The 12th transfer to PNG was recently completed with 20 Vietnamese transferred to Manus this month.

The department said this group of single adult males went through local immigration and quarantine clearance before being moved into the regional processing centre.

“Transfers will continue to both Manus and Nauru as part of the policy of regional processing of irregular maritime arrivals,” the department 

said.

“The Australian government continues to implement the recommendations of the report of the expert panel on asylum seekers, whose central principal provides that people choosing to travel to Australia should get no 

advantage.”

Meanwhile, two women and a child who were transferred to Australia for medical treatment have now been sent back to Manus.

The department said some transferees remained in Australia because they had not completed their medical treatment.

Attempts to get more information from the PNG Immigration and Citizenship office on the movement and processing time of the transferees was unsuccessful yesterday.