Australian Neo-Colonialism in the Pacific: Immigration Detention in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

There are thousands of non-citizens unlawfully present in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Under PNG law, they can be administratively detained and, if convicted of an immigration offence, imprisoned. In practice, PNG prefers not to detain these people because it lacks the resources to do so. At the same time, there are other non-citizens who are subjected to administrative detention despite being lawfully present in PNG. These are asylum seekers who have been transferred by Australia to a processing centre in Manus Province which Australia funds and controls. Those who are detained - whether in police stations, prisons, or the Australian processing centre - experience extremely poor conditions including violence.