Amnesty says NZ should resettle detained refugees

Transcript

GRANT BAYLDON: We know that people have been expressing extreme trauma on both Manus and Nauru we know that the conditions are deliberately abusive there and we know that they are simply not safe there have been a number of attacks on asylum seekers and refugees. Most recently on Good Friday where PNG military were shooting into the base. Drunken soldiers on a rampage. This is something that is happening in their own neighbourhood for New Zealand. The New Zealand government speaks out on human rights abuses when it talks to leaders from Iran from Saudi Arabia it is simply incoherent for New Zealand to stay silent on a situation like this in the Pacific. New Zealand has offered to take up to 150 from Australia from its offshore centres. What Australia has been saying is those people are not under its jurisdiction they are under the jurisdiction of PNG. Now that is clearly total fiction. Effectively the Australian government controls those centres it funds them it runs the infrastructure in them. The Australian government put the people there and it is still their responsibility. It could certainly accept that deal. But it seems the Australian government isnt going to do the right thing anytime soon. And really it is time now where the New Zealand government needs to make that offer to the PNG government and to Nauru as well.

BEN ROBINSON-DRAWBRIDGE: So you think the New Zealand government should approach the PNG government directly and try to bypass Australia will that work?

GB: It is not a matter of by bassing Australia the Australian government has said that any deal would have to be between Australia and PNG or Nauru so it is not a matter of cutting them out it is a matter of following what the Australian foreign minister has said to do the PNG government clearly has a problem on its hands. What the asylum seekers and refugees have experienced is that they are extremely unsafe in the community in Papua New Guinea. They have been subject to attacks to discrimination, it is not viable to resettle them there. The Australian government bears the primary responsibility to bring them back to Australia but of course if they dont do the right thing then other countries in the region including New Zealand should do the right thing.

BR-D: So you are saying it would really be remiss of the New Zealand government not to restate their offer to PNG?

GB: I believe it would be the right thing to do for the New Zealand government to restate their offer this is a time when New Zealand needs to show its values and show what it stands for and show that it has interest in protection people who have fled war zones and discrimination. We know that the Australian government has a proud history of refugee resettlement here. We also know that New Zealanders really want to give people a fair go and if people are showing that they are genuine refugees there has been a lot of support here in the community to resettle people and let them restart their lives.