Solomon Islands to play role in Australia's Papua New Guinea asylum seeker solution

The small Pacific nation of the Solomon Islands is expected to play a role in the federal government's plan to send asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea for processing and resettlement.

The country's Prime Minister, Gordon Darcy Lilo has been in talks with Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr and the pair plan to make a joint announcement on the matter from the Solomon Islands on Tuesday, a well-placed government source has told Fairfax Media.

This follows last week's announcement that no asylum seeker who comes to Australia by boat will ever be resettled in Australia, instead they will be sent to Papua New Guinea for processing and, if found to be refugees, will be resettled there.

Pacific nations that are signatories to the United Nations Refugee Convention, such as the Solomon Islands, which neighbours Papua New Guinea, could be asked to accept asylum seekers processed on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island who are found to be genuine refugees.

Back in 2011, under former Prime Minister Danny Philip, the Solomon Islands was keen to host a refugee processing centre on behalf of Australia.

In order to implement the Papua New Guinea policy, facilities in the country would require large-scale expansion.

If this asylum seeker policy fails to stem the arrival of 3000 people to Australia by boat each month, detention facilities in Papua New Guinea could be swamped within days.

The government has admitted that asylum seekers will be held in Australia for the time being as it races to expand PNG's facilities and bring them up to United Nations-mandated standards on health and education provision.

The Age