Asylum seekers sent to Papua New Guinea by Australia will be stripped of government-provided housing and healthcare under a new deal labelled a “death sentence”.
The asylum seekers were sent to PNG more than a decade ago under an offshore processing deal with Australia (ABC).
Convenor of the Refugee Action Coalition, Ian Rintoul, says that the agreement is a “death sentence”, and advocates have been unable to find secure accommodation in PNG for less than 1000 kina a week.
The Australian government has not been able to account for $80m paid to support the asylum seekers, after advocates revealed financial assistance stopped more than a year ago.