Julia Gillard turns to Pacific Solution in Papua New Guinea
Rowan Callick and Paul Maley The Gillard government is poised to revive one of the most controversial elements of the Howard government's Pacific Solution, with Port Moresby expected to agree to host a refugee processing centre in Papua New Guinea. As pressure mounts on Labor to deal with the asylum-seeker issue in the wake of a large influx of boats over the past three years and violent riots at detention centres in recent weeks, the Papua New Guinea cabinet is today expected to endorse a proposal submitted by Canberra for a centre to be located in the country. One of the options is to open a detention centre on Manus Island, the site of the Howard government's so-called Pacific Solution. In a clear sign the government's original proposal for a centre in East Timor has become an embarrassing failure, Immigration Department secretary Andrew Metcalfe and Richard Marles, the Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, travelled to Port Moresby this week for discussi