Manus Regional Processing Centre

Following the court’s decision on Monday to discharge the inquiry conducted by the Chief Justice, the transferees in Manus, who are now called residents, will proceed their case with the two separate enforcement applications they filed earlier.

The residents’ lawyer, Ben Lomai, will now continue their case in court with the two Supreme Court Enforcement Applications; SCAPP No. 04 of 2015 filed Behnam Satah & 301 others and SCAPP No. 03 of 2016, filed by Mohammad Nure Alam & 287 others against the state.

Chief Migrations Officer Mataio Rabura confirms that the refugee slipped on the waterfall rocks, resulting in his death.

33-year-old Kamil Hussain of Pakistan nationality was found drowned at a waterfall at Rossun village, on Tuesday this week. He was found 2 hours later by police with the help of locals.

Manus Acting Provincial Police Commander Inspector David Yapu said the refugee was rushed to Lorengau General Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

This issue needs to be rectified quickly, says Refugee Coalition Action Australia spokesman Ian Rintoul.

Ian Rintoul made the comments on Monday after attending the Supreme Court case involving the inquiry into the residents held in Manus.

He said after the ruling, things remained the same. Only terms were changed to the process and status of those kept there. From transferees, they are not called residents without formal documentation given to them. 

Lawyer Ben Lomai, who is representing over 600 residents at the processing centre, will be assisting the Supreme Court to identify five of his clients to undergo the resettlement test case.

The request came from Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia on Monday when receiving an update of the progress on processing on the island from Laias Kandi, the lawyer representing Immigration Minister Rimbink Pato and the Chief Migration officer Mataio Rabura.

“Let the governments of Papua New Guinea and Australia go about getting on with the process of adhering to court orders.

“Closure of the centre will require coordinate effort and our officials from both countries are working on this at the moment,” PM O’Neill said.

“Just standing on a soapbox and beating your chest does nothing to change the processes involved in adhering to this decision.

“The centre will not close overnight as it is a significant scale of operation and this process has to be done properly.