"My message today is very clear to the transferees on Manus and in other facilities … the absolute resolve of me as the new minister and of the Government is to make sure that for those transferees they will never [be settled] in Australia," Peter Dutton said in a press conference.
According to local media, a Pakistani asylum seeker allegedly ingested washing powder while two Iranian men swallowed razor blades, and are currently undergoing specialized treatment. Some 400 others reportedly have gone on a hunger strike in protest at their living conditions, and seeking to be given asylum status in Australia.
Dutton added that the asylum seekers were acting under misguided advice that harming themselves would change the government's position and allow them into Australia.
Australia sends asylum seekers, attempting to enter the country by boat, to the nearby offshore islands of Manus in Papua New Guinea, and Nauru. According to the country's immigration policy, asylum seekers, coming into the country without a valid visa, are to be transferred to the offshore detention facilities.
The immigrants are against being forcibly resettled on the island and want to be awarded asylum status in Australia. The asylum seekers are also protesting against living standards at the Manus detention center, including broken water pipes and hostility from the local Papua New Guinea population.
The recent events at the detention camps come almost a year after a riot in Manus led to the death of a 23-year-old Iranian, Reza Barati, and left about 70 people injured, following violent clashes between frustrated asylum seekers.
As of December 31, there are over 1,000 men in Manus, where no women and children are detained, and almost 2,000 asylum seekers in Nauru, as reported by local media.
