6 Aug 2013

Australia transfers more asylum seekers to PNG camp

2:58 pm on 6 August 2013

Australias Department of Immigration and Citizenship has flown another group of asylum seekers to its detention camp on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

The 39 men, mostly Iranians, are in the third group to be moved to Manus under Australia's revised agreement with PNG to take all would be refugees arriving by boat.

It takes the numbers on Manus to more than 100.

The department has reiterated that there is no cap on the number of people who can be transferred to PNG and says there will be regular transfers from Christmas Island.

This comes as the PNG government says it will renegotiate the refugee resettlement plan with Australia if it has trouble managing large numbers of asylum seekers.

The Australian immigration minister, Tony Burke, has flagged a major expansion of detention places on PNG.

But the PNG prime minister, Peter O'Neill, has said if asylum seeker numbers increase, they will sit down with Australian officials and go through it.

He also says it is stated in the agreement that it will be reviewed after a year.