PNG solution 'unravelling': Morrison
August 17, 2013
Mark Baker
Editor-at-Large, The Age
Labor's PNG solution was ''unravelling'', said Coalition immigration minster Scott Morrison, after the country’s Prime Minister Peter O'Neill denied the two central elements of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's tough new asylum-seeker policy – that PNG will settle all those determined to be refugees and that none will end up in Australia.
Mr O'Neil, speaking exclusively to Fairfax Media, said he had not agreed to settle all asylum seekers who are found to be refugees after processing on Manus Island and that Australia would need to take back a share of them. not what kevin said.
''There is no agreement that all genuine refugees will be settled in PNG,'' Mr O'Neill said.
Mr Morrison seized on Mr O’Neill’s comments saying Mr Rudd had ''been caught out again making bold claims that aren’t backed up by the arrangements that are intended to support those claims''.
Been caught out lying again...
''It happened with Nauru, and it has been unravelling with PNG by the day,'' Mr Morrison told a press conference on Saturday.
Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd sign an agreement over asylum seekers on July 19.
PNG's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and Kevin Rudd shake hands over an asylum seeker deal on July 19.
''This PM just isn’t fair dinkum when it comes to these issues. He is always one to over-promise, over-claim and under-deliver. And that’s why the Coalition has always been so concerned how the government handles these issues.'' the word is LIE...
He called on the PM to be upfront about what the arrangment ''actually does''.
Stop lying kevin.
Earlier on Saturday, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said that Mr O'Neill had ''flatly contradicted'' Mr Rudd's claim about their deal on asylum seekers and that the Australian Prime Minister would say anything to get a headline. Someone have the guts to use the L word. 
''You just can’t trust this Prime Minister,'' Mr Abbott told reporters in Perth on Saturday.
But when questioned about Mr O'Neill's comments on Saturday, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said that was certain he had 100 per cent support from the Papua New Guinea government for his tough new asylum seeker policy and he could guarantee that
no person who came to Australia by boat without a visa would be settled in Australia. Oh so now it is without a visa...
He referred to a section of the agreement with PNG that says: ''Persons found to be refugees will be resettled in Papua New Guinea and other participating regional states including Pacific island states.''
gee kev liar liar pants on fire...
''That’s what we agreed to . . . that has been confirmed as late as today,'' Mr Rudd told reporters in Adelaide.
So you lied Kevin....
Mr O'Neill told Fairfax Media that PNG would work with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to engage with other countries willing to take part in resettling those refugees.
''That includes Australia, New Zealand and all the other countries who are signatories to the UN conventions on refugees,'' he said.
He said he believed Australia had an annual quota to settle about 20,000 refugees. ''Under that process, they will get some and New Zealand has indicated they would take some.''
Mr O'Neill's stand came as the federal opposition toughened its refugee policy, announcing that it would deny the right of asylum seekers to appeal against negative assessments by courts.
WINNER!!!!
It would also retrospectively apply its tough temporary protection visa scheme to more than 30,000 people already in Australia awaiting refugee assessment decisions.
WINNER!!!
Mr Rudd insisted during the election debate last Sunday evening that there was ''one simple principle'' in his new regime under which
all asylum seekers arriving by boat are now being diverted to PNG and would be settled there.
But Mr O'Neill said that while PNG was willing to help with resettling refugees,
it could only take ''our quota''.
Mr O'Neill also derided federal opposition claims that Australia risked another major asylum-seeker influx after two Somalis were apprehended last week entering Australia from western PNG via the Torres Strait.
Mr Morrison repeated those comments on Saturday that the PNG plan opened ''another front'' for asylum seekers coming across the Torres Strait to Australia.
Mr O'Neill said the comments were ''ridiculous'' and there was no evidence that significant numbers of refugees were seeking to use PNG as a pathway to Australia. ''It is certainly an overreaction,'' he said.
Mr O'Neill said many Papua New Guineans had been offended by much of the debate and media commentary in Australia about the asylum seeker deal, which depicted the country as a dangerous ''hell-hole''.
He said PNG was happy to help Australia try to solve its asylum seeker problem, but was not obliged to. ''We can easily walk away from it and allow Australia to deal with it,'' he said.
Mr O'Neill said the new policy appeared to be working. It was slowing the number of boat arrivals and many of the asylum seekers already sent to Manus,
predominantly single Iranian men, were indicating they wanted to return home.
''From early indications there are not too many genuine refugees among those who are coming. They are economic migrants and many of them want to go home,'' he said. yep been saying it for years...
Earlier on Saturday Treasurer Chris Bowen said the process outlined in the agreement with PNG was clear, as were Mr O'Neill's comments when the deal was announced.
''What's very clear is we have a strong and enduring agreement with Papua New Guinea,'' Mr Bowen said.
''I think the agreement is clear and I think it's clear it's starting to work.''
Despite Mr Bowen's comments about the deal being enduring, the arrangement signed with Mr O'Neill says the program will be reviewed after 12 months.
with Caroline Zielinski and AAP
