The full story...

Manus MP equivocal about detention centre

Lexi Metherell reported this story on Tuesday, August 14, 2012 12:34:00

ELEANOR HALL: Well it may ignore its critics back home, reopening the detention centre on Manus Island may not be as straightforward for the Gillard Government as it would like.

Residents of the island are already voicing concern that they'll derive little benefit from the 600 person facility.

Manus MP and businessman, Ron Knight, told Lexi Metherell that the old facility's in a state of serious disrepair, and that he's concerned local businesses will be overlooked.

RON KNIGHT: As far as I know the detention centre at the moment has really been dismantled and it's in a very, very poor state of repair. I don't think that they would be able to get it done in time to cater for 600. There's no way. All the dongas have been moved around, some people have bought dongas, they've used them for things for personal for them to live in at the moment and I don't think that - without a big job being done, there's nothing on the ground at the moment that could cater for them.

LEXI METHERELL: Is there any building there that could be used as a centre for people to live in?

RON KNIGHT: Depends on how many people. If it was less than 50, we might have, be OK. If it was more than that, from what I heard 600, no way. No possible way.

LEXI METHERELL: Would the community of Manus Island and of Manus province like to see the detention centre rebuilt and reopened?

RON KNIGHT: It's a pretty touchy subject. The last time when this thing happened, everybody was very, very excited about it and we found out that Manus benefited nothing out of it. Everything came from the mainland, came from Lay or from Australian owned business.

For example they shipped everything directly through there, no local business participated in anything except for a few workmen and security guards. There was no lasting development in Manus at all, so if they decided to come back, no we would like to see something done for the people of Manus, something lasting.

LEXI METHERELL: What exactly would you like to see?

RON KNIGHT: We'd like them to source food locally, to come through the regular stores and buy their hardware from the local business houses, to engage local contractors and to involve the landowners in these things as well and to involve local security companies instead of bringing in Australian owned security companies from Lay and Moresby.

As soon as they closed up last time and disappeared, everybody packed up and went away, and there was nothing left.

LEXI METHERELL: Will the local government though have any say or is it something that the national government can just simply decide and overrule any opposition locally?

RON KNIGHT: Well Manus and Papua New Guinea is the land of the unexpected and when the landowners get their back up and then you will have a hard problem, and you will have a hard time.

Definitely Manus will have to have a say in the issue and the landowners will have to have a say in the issue and there has been one of the two Parliament hearings for months and we would have to be briefed and we would have to know what is the benefit going to be for Manus before we agree to anything like that happening here.

ELEANOR HALL: That's Ron Knight, a Manus province MP in Papua New Guinea's national parliament, speaking to Lexi Metherell.

From the Archives


The beginnings of civil war: Sri Lanka in 1983

» More
Recent Programs
Follow us...
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Other News Websites