Australia's new Immigration Minister in PNG for Asylum Seeker talks

Australia's Immigration Minister Scott Morrison . Bigpondnews Photo

Australia's new Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has arrived in Papua New Guinea ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and a trip to Australia's detention centre on Manus Island.

Mr Morrison on Thursday met with Attorney General Kerenga Kua in Port Moresby to discuss Australia's controversial border protection policy to send asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat to PNG.

'We are very grateful, particularly, of the role PNG has played over many years ... in assisting us in dealing with the issues of illegal arrivals to Australia, and particularly the processing in offshore places,' he said.

'The previous government had put some measures in place. I think we have many challenges ahead to ensure we can get those arrangements on a stable footing, an enduring footing.

'Today we can get down to some of those nuts and bolts operational issues.'

Mr Morrison also said he wanted to contribute to a fund set up for six PNG men injured in the recent Black Cat trail ambush that left three men dead.

The immigration minister is expected to dine with Mr O'Neill and Manus MP Ron Knight on Thursday, before flying to Manus on Friday.

Australia currently has 780 asylum seekers housed in Manus, a province of PNG made up of small tropical Islands just two degrees from the equator.

Australia had been sending asylum seekers there since November 2012 under an agreement by Mr O'Neill and former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard.

That plan was then dramatically expanded by re-installed prime minister Kevin Rudd and Mr O'Neill in July this year.

Under the new agreement, all asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat will be sent to either Nauru or PNG for processing and resettlement.

During Australia's recent election, then opposition spokesman Mr Morrison was highly critical of the arrangement.

'A one-page press release is not a detailed resettlement agreement. Rudd's PNG election fix is a donut deal - nothing in the centre,' he tweeted on August 24.

The coalition pledged to 'salvage' what it could from the deal.

During their meeting at airways hotel with senior diplomatic and immigration staff, Mr Kua said he was eager to discuss the issues surrounding Manus and PNG.

'Our relationship is with the Australian people, essentially,' Mr Kua said.

'Governments on both sides come and go but the relationship between the people is always a constant and that will drive the relationship between governments.'

The PNG government is preparing legislation to block constitutional challenges to the Manus centre.

A challenge mounted by PNG's opposition leader Belden Namah is currently before the courts.

Source: Bigpondnews