24 Feb 2014

Asylum-seeker advocate calls for Australian Immigration minister to resign

7:54 am on 24 February 2014

An advocate for asylum seekers on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island is calling for the resignation of Australia's Immigration Minister after the death of a detainee.

Reza Berati, an Iranian asylum-seeker, died after last week's riot and alleged violent crackdown by police and security.

The spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition, Ian Rintoul, says Scott Morrison's admissions that he gave incorrect information about the attacks is reason enough for him to resign.

He says the minister chose to ignore the huge amount of evidence that asylum seekers had been brutally attacked by the G4S guards and PNG police.

He says it's clear the Australian government can't guarantee the safety of the asylum seekers, and is showing no interest in bringing those responsible for the violence to justice, as the same people who killed Reza Berati and savagely attacked 77 others still have the run of the Manus Island detention centre.

He says this is in spite of the handover from G4S to Transfield that took place on Saturday.

Refugee supporters marched on Prime Minister Tony Abbott's electorate office in Sydney on Saturday.