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PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill
said in a statement he had met Australia's immigration minister, Peter Dutton,
in Port Moresby on Wednesday.
"Both PNG and Australia are
in agreement that [Manus Island] centre is to be closed," the statement
said.
PNG's Supreme Court found in April
that detaining asylum seekers and refugees at the centre was unconstitutional.
Mr O'Neill said the Manus
Regional Processing Centre, which currently houses 854 men, would not close
immediately.
AFP
"A series of
options are being advanced and implemented," Mr O'Neill said.
"It is important
that this process is not rushed but carried out in a careful manner.
"This must take
into account the interests of the people of Papua New Guinea and the wellbeing
of asylum seekers and refugees."
'No settlement in Australia'
Australia sends asylum
seekers who arrive in the country by boat to offshore detention centres in
Manus Island and the Pacific nation of Nauru.
Even those who are
found to be genuine refugees are not allowed to settle in Australia.
Mr
Dutton said in a statement that the Australian government "had a
longstanding position" to work with PNG's government to close Manus Island
and resettle refugees.
"Our position, confirmed
again today with PNG, is that no one from Manus Island Regional Processing
Centre will ever be settled in Australia," the statement said.
Manus Island: A controversial 'solution'
The camp first opened in 2001 under Australian Prime Minister
John Howard.
It was formally closed in 2008, but reopened in 2012 when a
spike in asylum seeker arrivals became a major political issue for the Labor
government.
In 2013 Australia agreed to give Papua New Guinea A$400m ($309m;
£212m) in aid in exchange for housing a camp and to resettle genuine refugees.
Deadly riots broke out in February 2014 when local residents
entered the facility. In January 2015, some detainees barricaded themselves
inside their compound and went on hunger strike.
Private security contractor Broadspectrum, formerly Transfield
Services, currently runs the camp.
Australia's government says its refugee policy has led to a
sharp drop in the number of migrant boats.
UN agencies and rights groups have criticised conditions at the
camp and say Australia is shirking its responsibilities towards refugees and
migrants.
Five judges on Papua New Guinea's Supreme Court's bench
ruled in April that the Manus Island camp breached section 42 of the
constitution, which guarantees personal liberty.
The court said "all steps" should be taken to
end the "illegal" detention.
'Rights and
dignity'
Papua New Guinea's constitution guarantees personal
liberty for all people, except in defined circumstances relating to crime,
illegal immigration and quarantine.
In 2014, Papua New Guinea's government amended section 42
of the constitution to add a paragraph that allowed for "holding a foreign
national under arrangements made by Papua New Guinea with another
country".
But the Supreme Court ruled this amendment was
unconstitutional, as it did not meet a requirement to respect "the rights
and dignity of mankind".
Mr Dutton said after the decision in April that there was
excess capacity at Nauru to house the detainees from Manus Island.
Australia could also reopen its centre on Christmas
Island to house the men.
The leak of 2,000 incident reports from the detention
centre on Nauru detailing sexual assault, violence and self harm have thrust
Australia's treatment of asylum seekers back into the spotlight in recent
weeks.
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