Off the wire
• China crude oil stockpile up 2.38 pct  • Bulgarian gas pipeline burst into fire, no casualties  • Yuan's internationalization a priority for China: Bloomberg  • 1st LD-Writethru: Chinese shares extend gains as real estate warms  • Albanian economic activity expands in first half of 2015  • Myanmar to attend 19th Asian archery championship in Thailand  • NFL 2015 standings  • China's starters against England at three-nation women's soccer tournament  • Xinhua Insight: Midlife crisis movie genre prevails for shifting China  • England's starters against China at three-nation women's soccer tournament  
You are here: 　 Home

Australia welcomes PNG's new refugee resettlement policy

Xinhua, October 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Papua New Guinea has pledged to allow refugees from the Australian-run immigration center on PNG's Manus Island to work and re-settle at "where appropriate", after finalising its refugee resettlement policy.

"This policy affirms our humanitarian values and our strong regional leadership," PNG Foreign Minister Rimbank Pato said in a statement on Friday.

Asylum seekers wishing to reach the Australian mainland have instead been controversially shipped to one of two Australian-run immigration detention centers on PNG's Manus Island and the small pacific nation of Nauru.

Australia's regional resettlement policy was adopted in mid-2013, aimed at stemming the flow of asylum-seeker boat arrivals following a spate of tragic deaths at sea.

The Australian government welcomed the decision on Friday following the three years of uncertain fate of the refugees after a deal struck with Cambodia last year failed to get off the ground, while refugees housed on Nauru have reported assaults.

"The PNG Government has shown with this announcement its commitment to permit those found to be refugees to get on with their lives and have a fresh start in this dynamic nation with a growing economy," Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said.

Pato defended the delay in the decision over concerns the refugees might snatch jobs of locals in a struggling economy that has been hit by severe drought and a dramatic loss of revenue from falling commodities.

"Settlement of refugees is not easy and we have to ensure refugees are not competing for employment and income earning opportunities with our citizens as well as prepare them for placement in the employment environment."

PNG's policy includes both "non-Melanesians" and the estimated 2,000 West Papuan refugees who have claimed asylum after crossing over the porous Indonesian-PNG boarder.

It is unclear where the refugees will be resettled, however it is understood authorities will offer language and transitioning courses and assistance to find housing and employment.

Once established, refugees will be allowed to send for their families and be eligible for citizenship in eight years, giving them the right to vote, own land and run in local political elections.

Locally the Australian government is coming under increasing pressure to address its hard-line policies concerning asylum seekers with the issue overshadowing its bid to join the U.N Human Rights Council. Endit