Manus Island refugees could benefit from election absence

From , 3:02 pm on 17 May 2019

The Manus Island refugee Behrouz Boochani says it's good refugees detained in Nauru and Papua New Guinea have not been an election issue in Australia.

He says it's also good for Australians, who go to the polls on Saturday to elect a new government.

Mr Boochani, who this year won Australia's richest literary prize, says being a political football in previous election campaigns did not help the refugees.

He told Ben Robinson Drawbridge the refugees were set to be an election issue until an Australian allegedly shot dead 50 Muslims in Christchurch.

Behrouz Boochani

Behrouz Boochani Photo: Behrouz Boochani / Hoda Afshar