PNG’s immigration minister says it will ‘cancel or terminate’ contract by the end of June

Papua New Guinea is pushing back on Australian plans to continue a controversial contract with Paladin to run refugee and asylum seeker accommodation on Manus Island.

The $423m contract with Paladin, which is currently being scrutinised by the national audit office, expires in less than two weeks, and the home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, indicated on Sunday it would likely be extended.

But PNG’s immigration minister, Petrus Thomas, has said his government expects to “cancel or terminate” the contract by the end of June, and that the chief migration officer had written to Australia’s home affairs department.

“PNG government wants a transparent tender process and most importantly will strongly recommended national content,” he said.

“Papua New Guinean companies now have the capacity and expertise to do the job and should be given the opportunity to participate.”

The PNG government was supposed to take over the running of services and facilities when the detention centre was closed in November 2017, however just before before the anticipated date it became apparent PNG was not ready to take over. After intense criticism of the contract and Paladin’s performance, the Australian government said this rush prompted their use of a limited tender process to engage Paladin. It has been renewed several times since.

Asked on Sunday if the contract would be renewed again in two weeks, Dutton said: “the likelihood is there’s a continuation”.

“I’m not going to comment when the department is in the process of the arrangements.”

The Australian government’s contract with Paladin Holdings stipulates that the department has “absolute discretion” to extend the contract for up to 12 months twice, but it must give six weeks notice to the company. It already extended the contract in September and December 2018.

The opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, said Labor was aware of PNG’s concerns and would be questioning the government over the Paladin contract in the next round of Senate estimates. He criticised the suggestion the contract would be renewed “without any process”.

“The fact is that Peter Dutton stuffed this up the first time,” Albanese said. “He had a chance to make it a bit better and what he’s doing is just digging further into the hole. The problem is the taxpayers are paying for that fiscal hole.

There are still around 800 refugees and asylum seekers on the two offshore sites – Manus Island and Nauru. On Sunday, Dutton said about 530 people had been resettled in the US under a deal struck between the former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and the then US president, Barack Obama, to take up to 1,250.

Dutton said he did not expect it would reach 1,250 but a few hundred people were currently being processed for resettlement. He said 95 people had withdrawn from consideration for US resettlement or rejected an offer.

More than 300 had been rejected by US authorities and there remain a number of people, including Iranians, whose asylum claims have been rejected. Iran will not issue travel documents to people who are not returning voluntarily, and neither major party in Australia has a plan for what happens to them.

Keneally backs medevac laws after Dutton claims Labor may help repeal bill Read more

PNG has long maintained that the memorandum of understanding makes them Australia’s responsibility, but Australia has resisted this interpretation.

Albanese also attacked the government on Monday over the shortfall in the US resettlement program, and the continued “indefinite detention” of people on Manus Island and Nauru.

“The government are continuing to not settle people who’ve now been in offshore processing for a very, very long time and yesterday Peter Dutton revealed that, in spite of the fact the deal with the US, a deal that Labor supported, to resettle 1,250 refugees in the United States, they’re not going to get anywhere near that figure,” he told media in Darwin.

“You have offers from countries like New Zealand to participate and to assist in regional settlement, that the government has ignored. Peter Dutton’s too obsessed by playing politics. He needs to stop playing politics and actually do his job.”

Labor’s immigration policy is largely similar to the Coalition’s but it has said it would accept New Zealand’s offer to resettle 150 refugees from Manus Island and Nauru each year. It has also suggested it would do better at seeking other third-country options.