Asylum Seekers

The case appears to be the first relating to the alleged abuse of an asylum seeker to make it to the island's courts.

In documents published on the legal website Paclii, an October 21 ruling shows that police have charged an un-named person with one count of indecent assault of a girl in October last year.

The full circumstances of the allegation, including whether the alleged assault occurred in Australia's detention centre or in the community, are unclear.

Australia has been under fire for its offshore processing programme for asylum seekers on Nauru and PNG's Manus Island.

Mr Crepeau said it's an opportunity to understand how Australia manages its overall migration policies, and their impact on the human rights of migrants.

He will meet government officials, civil society, unions, various agencies and the migrants themselves.

He will also visit the centers on Nauru.

Photo: AFP

The Supreme Court yesterday dismissed two enforcement of human rights applications, filed under section 57 of the Constitution because the applications were not signed by the Asylum Seekers as applicants but their lawyer, Ben Lomai upon their instructions.

Spokesman Ian Rintoul said the applications were dismissed on a very obscure technicality, on the basis that the applications were not signed by the individuals.

Wilson Security's decision follows the announcement by the service provider, Broadspectrum, earlier this year that

While a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said nothing has changed and the Department was still negotiating with the hospital about one-year-old baby Asha, refugee advocates said the girl's mother was told their relocation was imminent.

Baby Asha was being treated in Brisbane for injuries after she was accidentally burnt by boiling water in a tent on Nauru in January.

Doctors at the hospital have refused to release her until a suitable home environment is found.

The secretary-general, Ban Ki-Moon, met Malcolm Turnbull on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Malaysia on Sunday.

Ban also raised concerns about conditions in Australia's detention centres in Nauru and on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island.

The newborns, two girls delivered naturally and two boys delivered   by caesarean ranged in a healthy weight from 3.1 kilogrammes to 3.5 kilogrammes.

All mums are reported to be doing well.

A Government statement said two more expectant mums are due to give birth this month.

The Australian reported that the country was on a list of nations Canberra was considering sending refugees to.

It said other former Soviet republics were also being considered for resettlement, but no deals had yet been struck.

Australia's finance minister Mathias Cormann refused to confirm or deny the reports in an interview with Sky News, saying the government was speaking with a number of countries regarding resettlement, and would not comment until it was "in a position to do so".

He said while he was "concerned" about conditions within the offshore processing network, the Coalition did not want to encourage asylum seekers to risk their lives at sea.

Turnbull told Radio National's Drive program the Federal Government could not afford to take a backwards step on the issue.

"There will be no resettlement of the people on Manus and Nauru in Australia. They will never come to Australia," Turnbull said.

"Now, I know that's tough, we do have a tough border protection policy, you could say it's a harsh policy, but it has worked."

The case is being brought by the Human Rights Law Centre on behalf of 150 asylum seekers who were temporarily moved to Australia from Nauru for medical treatment.

When it was originally raised in May, the case argued that there was no Australian law which gave the government the power to facilitate offshore arrangements.

But the government, with the support of the opposition Labor party, hastily brought in such a law.