PRIME MINISTER:
It’s very good to be here at the Motukea Island operation of Curtain Brothers. Curtain Brothers is a business which has done magnificent work here in PNG for decades now. Sir Mick Curtain is part of the delegation which I’m leading to Port Moresby as very much at the heart of this visit and this is a sign of what can be done by Australian business here in PNG.
Obviously what’s happening here is very good for PNG but it’s very good for Australia too. This is tangible benefits coming from the kind of work that Australian companies do in PNG and this is the kind of thing that I hope we will see much more of in the years to come. This is the kind of thing that I want to see more of as a result of the business delegation that I have led to PNG over the last day or so.
So I know there are all sorts of other issues between Australia and PNG at the moment, but the difference that I hope to make on this visit is to deepen and broaden economic cooperation between Australia and PNG of which this operation is a flagship. This really is a flagship of the kind of business cooperation that we currently have between Australia and PNG and let’s see much more of it in the years and decades to come.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, what do you have to say about the – two questions – about the allegation that Reza Barati was thrown off a balcony and then beaten to death? And then also about the alleged injunction taken out by the PNG Government against this Supreme Court inquiry?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I say two things. First there is an inquiry going on headed up by Robert Cornall the former secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department. That’s the first thing I say. And the second thing I say is that PNG has a robust legal system.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister the deal with Kevin Rudd and Peter O’Neill initially was for all asylum seekers to be resettled here in PNG that were sent to Manus Island, when did that change and why?
PRIME MINISTER:
PNG as was very obvious yesterday is staying the course. It’s very important that we do get swift processing, swift repatriation and swift resettlement and I’m very confident after my discussions with Prime Minister O’Neill yesterday that that is exactly what we’re going to have. My understanding is that the PNG Cabinet will be finalising matters in April. That the PNG Parliament will be dealing with matters in May and so resettlement ought to be taking place for any of those who are found to be genuine refugees in May and June.
QUESTION:
What do you have to say about how Reza Barati was allegedly murdered on Manus Island?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’m just not going to pre-empt matters which are the subject of a number of inquiries.
QUESTION:
Just specifically though on that question, the when and why, previously it was all asylum seekers, very explicitly yesterday it’s no longer. When did that change and how come?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well let’s wait and see how many of the people currently on Manus are found to be genuine refugees. As Prime Minister O’Neill said yesterday, his strong suspicion is that very many of them are going to be found to be economic migrants and I think there’s a lot that we’ve seen which justifies that suspicion – certainly the former Foreign Minister Bob Carr thought that the vast majority of the people coming to Australia illegally by boat were economic migrants, they weren’t people who were in genuine fear of persecution. But the fundamental point I want to make at all times here is that all of our policies – offshore processing, temporary protection visas and the readiness to turn boats around on the high seas where it’s safe to do so – these are policies designed to stop the boats and they are working. The boats are stopping. It’s now more than three months since we had a successful illegal people smuggling venture to Australia.
QUESTION:
How long will those who are found to be refugees and are resettled in PNG have to wait before they have citizenship rights and family reunion rights?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well again that’s really a matter for the PNG Government.
QUESTION:
Peter O’Neill also said yesterday that he would like to see other countries in the Pacific region resettle refugees. Do you share that desire to see other countries have a similar arrangement and what discussions are being had with other countries about that?
PRIME MINISTER:
I certainly think that this is a problem that has a regional dimension. Obviously it was a problem that was created by the former government but the fact that people were coming through our region in order to try to get permanent residency in Australia does make it a regional problem and it is important for countries in the region to bear their fair share of the burdens, and I am so gratified and honoured by the hand of friendship that Peter O’Neill has extended to Australia – first to Kevin Rudd and subsequently to me. The cooperation that we are getting from PNG is a real act of mateship on their part and I’m really thrilled by it.
QUESTION:
Also is your Government Prime Minister negotiating with other Pacific island nations at the moment to try to facilitate the kind of participation that Peter O’Neill was talking about or are there no negotiations?
PRIME MINISTER:
What I’m not going to do is imperial discussions that we’re having by amplifying them in the media.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister were you made aware yesterday that the PNG Government intended to seek a halt on the David Canning’s judicial inquiry? Were you aware of that before that halt was sought in the Supreme Court yesterday? And secondly, related to that, does it concern you that after we’re told at the press conference no more questions about Manus, does it concern you that there seems to be this effort by the PNG Government to halt that inquiry, to [inaudible] of what’s been happening in that?
PRIME MINISTER:
I had no specific discussions with Prime Minister Peter O’Neill yesterday about the inquiry by the judge. As I said the judge’s work is something of his own motion as I understand it, but it is evidence that there is a vigorous and an independent legal system here in PNG and that surely is something that all Australians should applaud.
QUESTION:
In relation to that Prime Minister what do you think about the PNG Opposition Leader having…basically saying that the Manus Island Detention Centre is unconstitutional and is challenging it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well again, PNG has a vigorous and robust democracy to complement its vigorous and independent legal system. The PNG Opposition Leader is entitled to a view and no doubt he’s entitled to various courses of action under PNG law and it’s up to him whether he chooses to exercise them. But I am confident that the Manus Centre will continue to operate. I think it’s important that it does continue to operate. But the important thing here is that along with various other measures that this Government is pursuing, it is an integral element in our successful policies to stop the boats.
QUESTION:
….given those dramas that this will pass the Papua New Guinean Parliament and you can stick to the timeframe outlined yesterday?
PRIME MINISTER:
My understanding is that the government has a pretty strong majority in the Parliament. So I’m very confident that the timetable that Prime Minister Peter O’Neill outlined yesterday will stick. Again I stress, what we need is, we need swift processing, swift repatriation, swift resettlement because this will send a very strong signal to the people smugglers that if you try coming to Australia by boat you are never going to end up in Australia. The way is shut.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister does your Government have any plans to use the facilities on Motukea Island and could you elaborate?
PRIME MINISTER:
This is a very sophisticated facility, a very impressive facility and I’ve seen the work that’s being done for the South Pacific Games here at the moment, I’ve seen the extensive dry-docking and ship repair facilities that are here on this island, I understand that quite an amount of the work for the PNG LNG project, that $19 billion project, will be done here. I think the people of PNG can be very proud of this facility and I think the people of Australia should be very proud of this facility because it is a very sophisticated engineering work here in PNG being operated by an Australian business.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister have you been briefed on an accident at The Lodge this morning and if so what are your thoughts?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’ve had some oral reporting to me that there was a car that lost control, the driver has a medical condition, he lost control of the vehicle, the vehicle ran into one of the walls at The Lodge. My main concern is that the driver is ok and I gather he’s being treated in hospital and that’s what I’d like to say. I express my sympathy for the driver and my hope that he will be very well soon.
Now, just before we wrap this up, I should just let you know that there will be six aircraft searching the Southern Indian Ocean today. Regrettably due to weather conditions we weren’t able to locate any of the debris which satellite imagery revealed some days ago. We’ve had a lot of aircraft out over the last 48 hours. So far, as I said because of the weather conditions, there’s been no possibility for a visual on this debris. I understand that conditions in the Southern Indian Ocean are better today, so we’ve got six aircraft in the area. Later today my understanding is that an Australian Naval vessel will be in the area. As some of you know there are aircraft and vessels from other nations that are joining this particular search because tenuous though it inevitably is, this is nevertheless the first credible evidence of anything that has happened to flight MH370.
Thank you.
[ends]