50-632: The Manus Regional Processing Centre , or Manus Island Regional Processing Centre ( MIRCP ), was one of a number of offshore Australian immigration detention facilities . The centre was located on the PNG Navy Base Lombrum (previously a Royal Australian Navy base called HMAS Tarangau ) on Los Negros Island in Manus Province , Papua New Guinea. It was originally established in 2001, along with Nauru Regional Processing Centre , as an "offshore processing centre" (OPC) as part of
100-490: A "tipping point as a country", with the weight of public opinion believing that sick people need treatment. In March 2019, an action was launched in the Supreme Court of PNG by a group of asylum seekers who will argue that they are still being imprisoned, despite no longer being confined to the detention centre. Referring to the 2016 ruling by the Supreme Court that their detention was illegal, lawyer Ben Lomai said that
150-537: A Brisbane hospital on 2 September 2016. With his family's permission, his life-support was switched off on 5 September 2016. An inquest into Kehazaei's death began in the Coroner's Court in Brisbane on 28 November 2016. The article "The day my friend Hamid Kehazaei died", written by Behrouz Boochani , tells the story of Kehazaei's death. In January 2015, up to 500 men went on a hunger strike, barricading themselves in
200-490: A bill which became known as the "Medevac bill" was narrowly passed by the Australian parliament, allowing doctors to have more say in the process by which asylum seekers on Manus and Nauru may be brought to the mainland for treatment. The approval of two doctors is required, but approval may still be overridden by the home affairs minister in one of three areas. Human rights advocates hailed the decision, with one calling it
250-582: A campaign of civil disobedience . On 26 April 2016, the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea found that the Centre breached the PNG constitution's right to personal liberty, and was thus illegal. It said: Both the Australian and Papua New Guinea governments shall forthwith take all steps necessary to cease and prevent the continued unconstitutional and illegal detention of the asylum seekers or transferees at
300-449: A change of government a few months later, the government announced its Operation Sovereign Borders policy, aimed at stopping maritime arrivals of asylum seekers to Australia, commencing on 18 September 2013. Many high-profile and ordinary Australians called for the centre to be closed and the men brought to Australia or resettled elsewhere, over the seven years of its existence. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has cited
350-581: A diplomatic confrontation with Indonesia. According to historian Klaus Neumann of Deakin University , "Australia had not objected to Indonesia's takeover of the Dutch colony, and Australia had recognised Indonesia was now in charge of former Western New Guinea, so for Australia to grant refugee status posed a diplomatic problem". So by sending them to the remotest place in PNG the Australian authorities thought they would avoid any trouble with Indonesia. The camp
400-651: A seizure and a fall. On 14 April 2017, asylum seekers and centre staff alleged they had been shot at by locals. Ray Numa, Chief of Staff of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force , confirmed that staff at Lombrum Naval Base were investigating the involvement of PNG defence personnel in the attacks, stressing that misuse of weapons was a serious breach of military discipline, and that the police would prosecute any members breaching civil laws. Australian authorities later confirmed that nine people were injured when PNGDF personnel had fired "many" shots into
450-429: A series of protests by detainees at the centre escalated into a serious disturbance, which resulted in injuries to about 70 asylum seekers as well as the death of one detainee: 23-year-old Iranian asylum seeker Reza Berati was murdered by being struck with wood and a rock. In April 2016 two detention centre workers, Joshua Kaluvia and Louie Efi, were each sentenced to 10 years in jail for Berati's murder. Robert Cornall
500-879: Is an Australian private security company . It was started in 2000 in Melbourne. In 2014 it acquired the security contracts of ISS A/S Security in Australia and First Security Business in New Zealand . Wilson Security is a part of the Wilson Group which is owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties , the corporation of the Hong Kong–based Kwok family, one of the richest families in Asia, currently run by Raymond Kwok (previously also run by Thomas Kwok until he resigned after being found guilty of corruption). In 2015 it
550-755: The Department of Immigration until 2003, when ACM exited the market. Between 2003 and 2009, G4S was appointed as the contractor to manage a large number of facilities. Its contract was not renewed and in 2009 Serco Australia was awarded a five-year contract. The offshore processing centres on Nauru and Manus were operated by Broadspectrum (formerly known as Transfield Services), with security sub-contracted to Wilson Security , and later by Canstruct International . The new centres in Lorengau have security by Paladin Group . Wilson Security Wilson Security
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#1732787541372600-683: The Pacific Solution policy created by the Howard government . After falling into disuse in 2003, it was formally closed by the first Rudd government in 2008, but reopened by the Gillard government in 2012. As part of the PNG Solution by the second Rudd government , it was announced in July 2013 that those sent to PNG would never be resettled in Australia. After Tony Abbott became PM in
650-684: The Australian Parliament, and covering up malpractice at the Nauru Centre. They also claimed that a spying operation against Senator Sarah Hanson-Young which was first revealed in June 2015, was more extensive than Wilson Security or Broadspectrum/Transfield had admitted. In March 2017, two Australian employees of Wilson Security were deported to Australia by the Government of Nauru , for unspecified reasons. In February 2018,
700-863: The Defence Force, to lead an expert panel to conduct a review of asylum arrangements. Among the 22 recommendations made in the Houston report was one to re-open the OPC facilities on Nauru and at the Manus Regional Processing Centre. In November 2012, the Manus Regional Processing Centre was re-opened by the Labor government, due to the large volume of irregular maritime arrivals. Then Immigration Minister Chris Bowen stated "At this stage, family groups are best accommodated on Manus Island, as opposed to Nauru." The British services company G4S
750-529: The Department in September 2013. On 24 August 2014, 24-year-old Iranian asylum seeker Hamid Kehazaei sought medical treatment at the detention centre's clinic for an infected wound after cutting his foot. Kehazaei's condition worsened and he could not be treated on the island. Medical staff sought his immediate evacuation, but permission was not granted until 26 August. Kehazaei was declared brain dead in
800-402: The Lorengau camps and Port Moresby (in the hospital and accommodation for sick asylum seekers). The PNG paramilitary police squad was deployed around one of the camps in an attempt to deter suicide and self-harm attempts. Lorengau general hospital has been handling many of the self-harm and suicide cases, despite the Australian government contract with Pacific International Health (PIH), because of
850-566: The OPC facilities where they would stay while their claims for asylum were processed. The centres were managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The Manus Regional Processing Centre fell into disuse in preference to the Nauru centre. In July 2003, the immigration department announced that the centre would be wound down and the remaining detainees would be granted asylum and resettled in Australia. However,
900-678: The Regional Resettlement Arrangement between Australia and Papua New Guinea, the policy became known as the PNG Solution . On 19 July 2013 Rudd and Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announced the Regional Resettlement Arrangement policy in Brisbane . After the Liberal/National coalition won the federal election on 7 September 2013, Tony Abbott was sworn in as Prime Minister, and Operation Sovereign Borders came into effect, reinforcing
950-695: The book No Friend But the Mountains . Twelve Australians of the Year protested the government's handling of the problem in November 2017. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cited the centre as an "indictment of a policy meant to avoid Australia's international obligations." On 23 January 2018, a second group of 54 refugees left for the US. After a long history of mental illness, 52-year-old Rohingya, Salim, died on 22 May 2018. On 13 February 2019,
1000-427: The camp, which were terminated on 30 November 2019. University of Sydney immigration law specialist Professor Mary Crock says that Australia's history of offshore processing goes back to the 1960s, when Manus Island was set up to take refugees from West Papua. Known as "Salasia Camp", it consisted of a few corrugated iron houses on a bare concrete slab, not far from a beach near the main town Lorengau . Indonesia
1050-491: The camp, with at least 20 men sewing their lips together in protest. This was met with force. In March 2015, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he was "sick of being lectured" by the UN over Australia's treatment of asylum seekers, reiterating that its policy saves lives at sea. A controversial decision by the Australian government in July 2015 to make reporting of abuse within the centre illegal prompted staff at those centres to begin
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#17327875413721100-470: The centre as an "indictment of a policy meant to avoid Australia's international obligations". It was formally closed on 31 October 2017; however hundreds of detainees ("transferees" according to the Australian government) refused to leave the centre and a stand-off ensued. On 23 November 2017, a few were resettled in the United States as part of a refugee swap deal. Between August and November 2019,
1150-517: The centre to leave. By 23 November 2017, all remaining men had been removed, more than 300 by force, to new accommodation. Detainee Behrouz Boochani wrote of what was happening and of his fear during the siege that followed the closure, as well as the articles he wrote for The Guardian at the time, amongst other things, in WhatsApp messages to translator and friend Omid Tofighian , published in full online. The messages were eventually published in
1200-631: The centre would continue to be maintained in case the need for reactivation arose. Aladdin Sisalem, a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian, fled Kuwait in 2000 and in December 2002 arrived at an island in the Torres Strait where he claimed asylum, and was sent to the Manus centre. For ten months, Sisalem was the sole detainee at the centre, with a small staff of guards and cleaners for company. In May 2004, he
1250-464: The compound, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull 's government claiming that the incident was sparked by locals' anger over claims that a boy had been led towards the centre by asylum seekers, but this version was disputed by PNG Police Commissioner David Yapu, who said that nothing had happened to the boy. A class action suit on behalf of persons detained on Manus Island from 21 November 2012 until 19 December 2014, and 21 November 2012 until 12 May 2016
1300-415: The curfew which restricts them to the accommodation centres at night. There was confusion about the application of Medevac bill. A Sri Lankan refugee reported that self-harm is a regular occurrence. Signs had gone up around the camp saying that any medical evacuations will be temporary only, that Christmas Island had been reopened and that none of them would ever settle in Australia. The unsigned notification
1350-412: The current situation, with no time frame given as to how long they will be there, amounts to detention. They will also be asking for the men to be given travel documents which will allow them to move around within the country and also overseas. At the moment they have to apply through an arduous process, cannot travel to other provinces and need permission to travel to Port Moresby or for any exceptions to
1400-516: The end of its contract in October 2017, citing damage to its reputation, and Ferrovial, major owner of Broadspecturm, also announced that it would cease providing services to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection at the same date. After the centre had officially ceased operating as a detention centre at the end of 2017, Paladin Holdings and NKW Holdings were given contracts to maintain
1450-739: The facility. As of June 2020, over 100 men from Manus and Nauru were being detained in an hotel in Brisbane , after being transferred to the mainland for medical treatment, confined to quarters under a lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic . They were released into the community in February 2021. In October 2021, the Australian Government cut off all support to the 124 remaining men on the island, leaving PNG to take over responsibility for them. The Manus Regional Processing Centre, officially Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (MIRCP),
1500-610: The last former detainees were moved to Port Moresby , with the government's regional processing contractors instructed to terminate services on 30 November 2019. High-profile detainee, the Iranian-Kurdish writer and activist Behrouz Boochani , went to New Zealand in November on a one-month visa to speak at WORD Christchurch event. By November 2019 at least eight of the detainees had died by various means, including suicides, some on Manus and some after being transferred to Australia on medical grounds, since first being detained in
1550-515: The night by PNG Immigration authorities said "The Manus RPC will close at 5 pm today" (31 October), and that all power, water and food supply would cease. The PNG military took control of the area. Alternative accommodation had been provided at the East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre and West Lorengau Haus. On 22 November 2017, Papua New Guinea Police moved in to try to get the more than 350 men remaining in
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1600-520: The offshore processing policy and support the other men still in detention. List of Australian immigration detention facilities This is a list of current and former Australian immigration detention facilities . Immigration detention facilities are used to house people in immigration detention , and people detained under the Pacific Solution , and Operation Sovereign Borders . Most facilities were operated by Australasian Correctional Management (a subsidiary of G4S ) under contract from
1650-633: The policy of no maritime arrivals being resettled in Australia. The Australian government's decision to resume offshore processing met with domestic political opposition from the Greens. In March 2014, the contract with G4S expired, and the Australian government entered into a 20-month contract worth AUD $ 1.22 billion with Broadspectrum (which operated the facility in Nauru) for facilities management including building maintenance and catering, with security provided by Wilson Security. On 17 February 2014,
1700-494: The relocation centre on Manus Island ..." Late on 27 April 2016, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announced that the processing centre would be closed, saying his government "will immediately ask the Australian Government to make alternative arrangements for the asylum seekers" and that "we did not anticipate the asylum seekers to be kept as long as they have been at the Manus Centre." He said that Papua New Guinea
1750-399: The resettlement deal, with others apparently taking the number up to 54. On 2 October 2017, 32-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil, Rajeev Rajendran, was found dead on the grounds of the Lorengau hospital, a suspected suicide. The centre was formally closed on 31 October 2017. However, nearly 600 men refused to leave the centre, citing fears for their safety amid hostile locals. A notice posted during
1800-553: The seriousness of the cases. The police commander commented that they were doing all they could, but severe mental illness arose because of the effect of long-term detention on the men. In early June, prominent refugee and advocate Abdul Aziz Muhamat was granted asylum in Switzerland , four months after flying there to receive the Martin Ennals award (see below). He said that he said he would continue to speak out against
1850-543: The settlement was not an admission of liability and the Commonwealth strongly refuted and denied the claims brought in the class action. On 7 August 2017 Iranian asylum seeker Hamed Shamshiripour was found dead in Lorengau . He was known to have a history of mental illness and refugee advocates had been trying to get help for him. In September 2017, the US accepted 22 refugees from Manus Island, its first intake under
1900-614: Was a subcontractor of Broadspectrum at Australian offshore detention facilities (the others being managed by Serco at the time). At the time, Wilson had been working on Nauru since late 2012, and on Manus Island since February 2014. In August 2015, two former Wilson Security guards spoke out against the company in an interview for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation 's The 7.30 Report . They, among others, accused Wilson Security and Broadspectrum /Transfield of providing misleading information to
1950-497: Was announced that a deal had been made with the United States to resettle people held in detention on Manus (and Nauru ) Islands. Details were not made public, but the US would determine the total number of refugees it would take, eligible applicants still needing to clear US authorities' "extreme vetting" procedures. In December, 27-year-old Sudanese refugee Faysal Ishal Ahmed, allegedly ill for months, died after suffering
2000-516: Was appointed in February 2014 to conduct "a review into the circumstances surrounding the Manus centre disturbances" leading up to Berati's death with the primary focus on management of security at the centre. Cornall presented his review to the Immigration Department on 23 May 2014. Cornall had previously conducted an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at the Manus Regional Processing Centre, his report being presented to
2050-496: Was brought by lead plaintiff Majid Karami Kamasaee against the Commonwealth of Australia, G4S Australia and Broadspectrum . The claim was in negligence and false imprisonment. Kamasaee was represented by law firm Slater and Gordon. Slater and Gordon reached a settlement with the Commonwealth of Australia, G4S Australia and Broadspectrum on 14 June 2017 for $ 70 million plus costs (estimated at $ 20 million), with no admission of liability. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said
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2100-574: Was implemented in the wake of the Tampa affair . The policy involved the excision of Australian external territories ( Christmas Island , Ashmore and Cartier Islands and Cocos (Keeling) Island ) and other islands in the Pacific Ocean—from the Australian migration zone . Asylum-seekers arriving by boat without visas in these excised territories to seek asylum in Australia ) were transferred to
2150-763: Was located on the PNG Navy Base Lombrum (previously a Royal Australian Navy base called HMAS Tarangau ) on Los Negros Island in Manus Province , Papua New Guinea. From November 2012 the British services company G4S was responsible for its operation. From March 2014, security was managed by Wilson Security , while food and maintenance at the centre were operated by Transfield Services, later renamed Broadspectrum , until Ferrovial bought out that company and its contract in April 2016. Broadspectrum later subcontracted Wilson to perform operations at Manus and Nauru. In September 2016 Wilson announced that it would be withdrawing at
2200-473: Was not a detention centre, and many stayed on, stateless, until in 2017, these West Papuans were finally offered PNG citizenship. The centre was originally established on 21 October 2001, as one of two Offshore Processing Centres (OPC). The other OPC was the Nauru detention centre . The OPC facilities were part of what became known as the " Pacific Solution ", a policy of the Howard government in Australia, which
2250-532: Was one of a number of offshore Australian immigration detention facilities created after the Australian Government instituted its Operation Sovereign Borders policy, aimed at stopping maritime arrivals of asylum seekers to Australia . The operation is the outcome of a 2013 federal election policy of the Coalition , which commenced on 18 September 2013 after the election of the Abbott government . The centre
2300-589: Was posted by Behrouz Boochani on Twitter. After the Australian Liberal Party were (unexpectedly, according to polls) re-elected 2019 Australian federal election , reports of despair and attempted self-harm and suicide were reported from Manus. The men had hoped with Labor in government, the New Zealand offer would be accepted and they would at last be resettled. By 4 June there had been at least 26 attempts at suicide or self-harm by men in
2350-433: Was preparing a military takeover of the former Dutch New Guinea colony in the 1960s, causing thousands of refugees, known as " West Irians " to flee into the then Australian colony of Papua New Guinea . Many were turned back by Australian patrol officers on the border but a few dozen received special visas and the first were sent to Manus in 1968 by the Australian government, to a camp was built by Australia in order to avoid
2400-497: Was proud to play an important role in stopping the loss of life due to people smuggling . O'Neill said negotiations with Australia would focus on the timeframe for the closure and for the settlement of legitimate refugees interested in staying in Papua New Guinea. Australia's immigration minister, Peter Dutton , confirmed on 17 August 2016 that the centre was to be closed, but no timescale was given. In November 2016 it
2450-507: Was resettled in Melbourne. With the election of the Rudd government (Labor) in 2007, the Manus Regional Processing Centre was formally closed in early 2008, fulfilling an election promise by Rudd to end the offshore processing system. In 2012, a significant rise in the number of irregular maritime arrivals saw the "asylum issue" become a political liability for the government. The Gillard government commissioned Angus Houston , former Chief of
2500-456: Was responsible for its operation. In July 2013, shortly after Kevin Rudd returned as prime minister for a second time, the government announced that boat arrivals would never be allowed to resettle in Australia. The following month, it agreed to give Papua New Guinea A$ 400m (£230m; $ 310m) in aid in exchange for their part of the deal, which included agreeing to resettle refugees. Officially called
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