In the lead-up to the closure of the Manus Island Processing Centre on 31 October, the Australian Government issued notices to asylum seekers detained there warning that water, food and power would soon be cut. The government has offered certified refugees accommodation in Lorengau or a transfer to Nauru while they wait for the outcomes of their resettlement applications to the USA. However, detained asylum seeker and journalist Behrouz Boochani stated that many asylum seekers fear for their safety at Lorengau. Meanwhile, a total of 606 asylum seekers are refusing to move from the Manus Island Processing Centre and lawyers including Ben Lomai are planning to ask the PNG Supreme Court to intervene in the closure and stop food and water services being cut off.
Law firm Maurice Blackburn will file a new class action against Peter Dutton on grounds of unlawful detention with the lead plaintiff being a boy who was born in Darwin and detained on Christmas Island with his asylum seeker parents. Lawyers estimate that thousands of asylum seekers are eligible to join the lawsuit. This comes after the Turnbull Government settled a $70 million payout to 2000 asylum seekers detained on Manus Island last month.