Australia will reopen a controversial detention center for asylum seekers, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday after an embarrassing defeat in parliament that allows migrants in offshore camps to receive medical care in the country. “We have approved putting in place the reopening of the Christmas Island detention facilities, both to deal with the prospect of arrivals as well as dealing with the prospect of transfers,” Morrison told reporters in Canberra. Previously, asylum seekers intercepted at sea and sent to camps in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Nauru were not allowed to set foot in Australia unless the government decided they need urgent care. “This legislation is confined to the current cohort of people on Manus Island and Nauru,” said Kerryn Phelps, an independent lawmaker. After he left office, the center-left Labor government began holding refugees on Christmas Island.

Source: bd News24 February 13, 2019 03:56 UTC