8 Jul 2011

Australia opposition's Bishop to visit PNG in detention centre quest

1:05 pm on 8 July 2011

Australia's opposition Foreign Affairs spokeswoman is to travel to Papua New Guinea's Manus Island this weekend to discuss the possible re-opening of the refugee processing centre there.

This comes amid Australia's drive to process its asylum seekers abroad.

The newspaper, The Age, reports that Julie Bishop will meet PNG's Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal, who last month toured the Manus facility.

The mothballed facility was used by Australia for the processing of its asylum seekers in the early years of last decade.

Australia's government has been in discussion with PNG this year over re-establishing the detention centre but in the last two months the talks have stalled .

Ms Bishop's visit to PNG comes after opposition leader Tony Abbott travelled to Nauru to attack the Gillard government's refugee policy.