On Manus Island asylum seekers were held for years in “Regional Processing Centres” but there was no processing, no information, just indefinite detention.
In 2019 all were moved from Manus Island to Port Moresby.
Ten years on, 80 refugees and people seeking asylum are still trapped in PNG.
The Albanese government came to power aspiring to a fair and humane refugee policy.
Grandmothers for Refugees are calling on the government to vigorously pursue its reform agenda, giving priority to bringing the remaining 80 refugees and asylum seekers from PNG to Australia while resettlement options are found.
Pauline Pannell and Betty McGeever (members of Grandmothers for Refugees in WA) wrote this article earlier this year for the Ten Year Anniversary. Check out GFR September Newsletter on our Homepage for news of Fremantle actions.
TEN YEARS OF INHUMANITY, TEN YEARS TOO LONG. By Pauline Pannell, Fremantle Herald Interactive