A Papua New Guinea lawyer says the government's amendment to the constitution to allow asylum seekers to be transferred to PNG was invalid and should be rejected by the Supreme Court.
Loani Henao is representing the leader of the opposition, Belden Namah in his quest to challenge the agreement between PNG and Australia, which saw the Manus Island detention facility reopened in November 2012.
Mr Henao says earlier this year the government amended Section 42 of the constitution to avoid a challenge filed by Mr Namah last year over the legality of the transfer of asylum seekers to PNG.
Mr Henao has applied to amend the original legal challenge and he says the main complaint is that the constitutional amendment was not in the interests of the people of PNG.
"We're saying that this amendment has been made at the behest of the Australian government, not in the interest of the people of this country. It is wrong for the government to use its numerical strength to please a foreign government."
Loani Henao says a date for a hearing on the application to amend the present action still has to be set.
