The Australian Government agreed to a $70 million settlement to compensate 1900 asylum seekers currently or formerly held on Manus Island for alleged physical and psychological harm. Immigration minister Peter Dutton denied that the settlement is an admission of wrongdoing by the government, saying that the Commonwealth ‘strongly refutes and denies the claims made in these proceedings’.
The United States will tell dozens of refugees held in the Manus Island detention centre whether they will be offered resettlement in America within six weeks. US officials returned this week to Manus Island to conduct medical examinations on 70 men.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull introduced legislation that would require migrants wanting to become Australian citizens to pass an English language test. Labor has decided to oppose the test.