Eighteen men who were held in Papua New Guinea’s Bomana immigration detention centre were released and moved to three hotels in Port Moresby. The eighteen men were the final remaining group of 53 men who had been arrested by PNG authorities in August 2019. Refugee advocates have expressed concern for the health and wellbeing of this group as a result of the detention conditions.
New data from the Australian Department of Home Affairs shows expenditure of $6.1 million in 2018-19 on flights transferring refugees and asylum seekers interstate and between detention centres last year. The questions on notice also showed the department spent $111 million on legal costs in 2018-19, which is a $19 million increase from the 2017-18 spend.
The Tamil family detained on Christmas Island were unaware that coronavirus evacuees from the Chinese city of Wuhan would be quarantined on the island, until they were told by a journalist. The family are currently the sole inhabitants of the island’s detention centre.
A landmark decision by the United Nations Human Rights Committee found it unlawful to force ‘climate refugees’ to return to their home countries. The Committee considered a challenge brought by Kiribati man, Mr Ioane Teitiota. While the committee found he was not at imminent risk, it did find that such claims may be upheld in future as the impacts of climate change worsen. The decision is non-binding but is expected to pave the way for more claims from people in the Pacific.