20 May 2014

Open forum on Manus about Regional Resettlement Arrangement

As part of the Australian Government’s ongoing community and business consultations on the Regional Resettlement Arrangement (RRA), an open forum was held in Manus on 19 May.

An additional briefing session was held in Cairns on 17 May providing information about the opportunities for business associated with the Manus Regional Processing Centre. The forum followed previous information sessions in Manus, Lae and Port Moresby in January 2014 and August 2013.

The RRA is already delivering many economic opportunities for Manusians and other PNG companies and employees. The Australian High Commission publishes facts about the economic benefits resulting from the RRA at www.png.embassy.gov.au

The Manus open forum highlighted the opportunities for local and national business involvement in the implementation of the RRA. It also focussed on opportunities to build capacity for local businesses.

The separate consultation in Cairns in the margins of the Australia-PNG Business Council Forum was an opportunity for dialogue and information sharing to further strengthen understanding of the benefits of the RRA for PNG businesses.

The Australian Government strongly supports the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Manus Provincial Government’s aim to maximise opportunities for local participation in employment and subcontracting activity in the implementation of the RRA.