Aussie immigration center becomes open facility to comply with court ruling

Australia does not expect it will have to renegotiate with its service providers and the PNG government now its immigration detention and processing center on Manus Island is an open facility.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has relaxed restrictions on the some 850 refugees and asylum seekers it houses on behalf of Australia on Manus Island, allowing them to leave the center only during the day in order to comply with a recent supreme court ruling deeming the facility illegal.

"I don't think it does (require renegotiation) -- there are still support services that are provided, we provide funding to the PNG government and organizations," Australian immigration minister Peter Dutton told reporters on Thursday.

Australia has been sending asylum seekers who attempt to reach the mainland by sea to one of two offshore immigration detention and processing centers on PNG or the pacific island state of Nauru since 2013.

The policy was adopted in a bid to stop people smuggling operations by boat to Australia following a spate of tragic deaths at sea, despite the numbers seeking refuge paling in comparison to those reaching the shores of Europe.

Australia and PNG have been in a diplomatic tussle since the PNG Supreme Court last month ruled the establishment of the detention facility and the original memorandum of understanding was unconstitutional, forcing the government to announce the center would be closed, though no timetable was given.

PNG now claims with the eased restrictions allowing detainees to leave the camp during the day, it has ended the detention of asylum seekers and refugees, and hence is complying with the court order.

The long-term fate of those who have been deemed refugees however is still uncertain as both Australia and PNG claim the other is responsible for resettlement. Australia maintains refugees who attempt to reach the mainland will never resettle in Australia.

Dutton on Monday told reporters the issues "will take a couple of months to sort" as officials in both countries hold talks.

That timeframe puts a likely politically sensitive decision well after the July 2 federal election despite impasse featuring heavily in local media, forcing the incumbent and opposition political parties to defend their harsh immigration policies to an increasingly frustrated electorate.

Australian authorities have also been in negotiations with the government of Nauru which has capacity to house the Manus Island detainees at its processing center.

Lawyers for the detained asylum seekers late last week filed an injunction in Australia's high court aiming to halt their potential transfer to the Nauru facility which has been criticised by the United Nations for its harsh conditions and been subject to self immolation protests over the past fortnight.

A 23-year-old Iranian man tragically died and a Somali woman remains in critical condition in an Australian hospital after they set themselves alight in protest of the harsh conditions at the Nauru center, which has been subject to reports of systemic child abuse and rape.

(APD)