PNG stays mum on asylum seekers

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith has briefed Papua New Guinea on Australia's
new direction on handling asylum-seekers, but there's no indication PNG will help.
Mr Smith on Thursday told reporters in Alotau, Milne Bay Province, in PNG's eastern
tip, that during meetings with his counterpart Sam Abal this week he outlined
Australia's asylum-seeker policy.
"This is the start of a conversation, it's not and can't be a unilateral or a
bilateral conversation, it has to be a generally regional conversation," Mr Smith
said on Thursday.
"Our officials in the region will conduct formal briefings over the next days and
weeks."
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's plan for East Timor to become a regional
refugee processing hub received a boost on Thursday when prime minister Xanana
Gusmao agreed to further discussions on the proposal.
Ms Gillard outlined a "vision for a regional processing centre" in a speech to the
Lowy Institute on Tuesday.
"I gave a brief to PNG on what the PM announced in her speech to the Lowy
institute," Mr Smith said.
"It's entirely a matter for PNG to indicate to the region that it's had a particular
idea or role in mind."
Under the previous Howard government's Pacific Solution, PNG ran an offshore
processing centre on Manus Island, in the country's north.
The Manus Island detention centre was built in 2001 and closed in 2004. The
deteriorated facility is now used by the PNG Defence Force.
PNG Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Abal said they had not reconsidered.
"For us we did have the place up in Manus but the policy was to close it off, that's
where we are.
"Sometimes I face resistance from within, so at the moment, this is the first brief
I've had from Stephen (Smith) so I can't say," he said.
In November last year AAP reported that Manus Governor Michael Sapau wanted to
reopen the centre as it provided much-needed employment.
At the time, Mr Abal told AAP PNG would "consider" an Australian request to revisit
the plan.