The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea says it is surprised by and disappointed at the agreement reached by Peter O’Neill and Kevin Rudd that all asylum seekers coming to Australia by boat will be processed on Manus Island and that those deemed to be genuine refugees will be resettled in Papua Read more
Manus Island is one of the poorest and most remote areas of Papua New Guinea. Ambrose Kiapseni is the region’s Catholic Bishop and his diocese includes Manus. He criticised the establishment of the first asylum seeker centre there and he told Alison Carabine that he hasn’t changed his mind. Listen to interview on Radio Australia
Papua New Guinea officials say they will know within two weeks whether they will reopen the Manus Island asylum seeker processing centre. However, Australia’s Uniting Church has criticised discussions between the country’s Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and his Papua New Guinea counterpart, Ano Pala, over the possible processing of asylum seekers on Manus Island. Mr Rudd Read more