Refugees and asylum seekers during a protest at the Manus Island centre. Credit:AAP "Twenty per cent of them are on anti-depresssants or other psychotropic medication. Now you take away someone's medication, these are people who will become acutely suicidal, who will become anxious, many of them will experience a range of other side effects." A regional official of the UN's refugee agency and advocates have rejected the government's insistence that alternative accommodation sites in and around the main town of Lorengau were ready to house the men. The government maintains the detainees should relocate from the centre, but has refused to guarantee or take responsibility for their safety, with acting Prime Minister Julie Bishop saying responsibility lies with Papua New Guinea authorities. She also said the situation was ultimately Labor's fault. "The PNG government have provided for alternative accommodation. Some have already moved to this alternative accommodation," Ms Bishop told Sky News.

"There are two alternatives, one for refugees and one for those who are not refugees and are not owed protection. Essential services are available at the alternative accommodation: food, water, electricity and medical support." Asked if the Australian government could ensure the safety of the detainees moving to the new facilities, Ms Bishop said: "Papua New Guinea is a sovereign government of a population of over 8 million people. They are responsible for law and order and for security." UNHCR deputy regional representative Nat Jit Lam, who visited the alternative sites in recent days, said the East Lorengau facility was not ready. "I would not be bringing any refugee there, not in that state," he told ABC radio. Senator Di Natale said both the Coalition and Labor were responsible for the "humanitarian crisis" and said detainees feared for their lives.

"The facilities that the government says they've built aren't completed, and in fact one of them is a couple of dongas in a paddock, so there isn't enough capacity to house all of those detainees," Senator Di Natale said. Detainees say they are afraid of violent clashes with locals, and have collected rainwater in an attempt to sustain themselves in the centre, which has been vacated by staff. Locals broke into the compound on Tuesday and looted equipment from the centre after staff left the facility. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton dismissed the concerns raised by the Greens, advocates and detainees on Tuesday. He said the detainees' concerns were "subterfuge" and accused Greens senator Nick McKim of "breathtaking duplicity", suggesting he and his party were intentionally inciting trouble at Manus. In response, Senator McKim launched an extraordinary attack on the minister. "My response to Peter Dutton is that he is a racist, a proven liar, a fascist and a serial human rights abuser, and I'm prepared to stake my political credibility anytime against the credibility of a monster like Peter Dutton," he said.

Loading PNG's armed forces are due to resume control of the site as soon as Wednesday, but have promised not to use force to remove the refugees. On Wednesday, ​Senator McKim was denied entry to the compound, which sits inside a PNG naval base.