Refugee advocates want the Albanese government to evacuate about 70 refugees in Papua New Guinea, with many of them fearing eviction from Australian-organised accommodation.
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The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) says refugees depending on the PNG government for accommodation in a deal struck with the Australian government in at least nine separate properties in Port Moresby have been evicted or warned it is imminent.
An Afghan refugee, his heavily pregnant wife and two young children were forcibly evicted from their accommodation in Port Moresby on Monday, said Ian Rintoul of the Refugee Coalition Action.
One Pakistani asylum seeker, speaking on condition of anonymity fearing repercussions, says he is afraid for his family's safety.
He has been in PNG for over a decade, first in the detention centre on Manus Island until 2017 and now at a serviced apartment complex called Citi Boutique in Port Moresby.
"Everyone is feeling very worried because police forcibly removed the Afghan family, so I stay up the whole night to try to protect my family," he told AAP.
"The owner of the apartments has openly threatened us, telling us 'you have to leave'.
"He (the landlord) says he hasn't received money in the last 10 months and says we will be kicked out soon."
The Melbourne-based refugee rights group says the evictions have been triggered by the PNG government's failure to pay service providers over an extended period.
In July, parliamentary documents revealed the Morrison government signed a "confidential bilateral arrangement" with the PNG government in December 2021.
The Albanese government has refused to release details of the funding agreement, saying it would damage foreign relations in the region.
Hundreds of asylum seekers have been housed in temporary accommodation throughout the country with dozens eventually resettling in Australia, since the Manus Island regional processing centre closed in 2017.
But about 70 people remain in legal limbo including the Pakistani asylum seeker who says the accommodation contract is run through a company called Chatswood, which he has not been able to contact for weeks to know his status.
The asylum seeker has also contacted PNG's Immigration and Citizenship Authority to no avail.
"PNG is 100 per cent unsafe for me and family so we stay inside the room the whole time," said the asylum seeker who escaped Pakistan a decade ago after threats from Taliban sympathisers.
AAP has contacted the Department of Home Affairs and Chatswood in PNG but has not received a reply.
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre wants the Albanese government to immediately evacuate the remaining refugees to Australia.
"The people seeking asylum and refugees trapped in PNG have suffered horrific human rights abuses, medical neglect, family separation and ongoing uncertainty over more than 10 years of indefinite, offshore detention," said the centre's Ogy Simic.
"The only humane response is to bring the people being held offshore to safety in Australia, where they can access the support that they need, including urgent medical care."
Australian Associated Press
