Canberra
Most of the people who have been detained on Manus Island have backed a $70 million (Dh256.9 million) compensation settlement that lawyers say acknowledges the harms they have suffered. But a journalist and Iranian refugee currently held on Manus, Behrouz Boochani, said many had signed up to the settlement because they felt they had no other options for legal action.
Legal firm Slater and Gordon hopes to get the money paid to current and former detainees before the Manus Island regional processing centre closes. Despite the Papua New Guinea supreme court ruling in April that the detention centre is “illegal and unconstitutional”, it remains operational and houses nearly 900 men, and is not slated for closure until the end of October.
About 70 per cent of the 1,923 group members in the class action, who represent the majority of people detained on Manus Island since 2012, have so far registered to be part of the settlement. The Australian government settled the landmark class action in June rather than proceed with a six-month trial. Had the matter gone to trial, the court would have heard evidence from detainees detailing deaths inside the detention centre, allegations of systemic sexual and physical abuse, and allegations of inadequate medical treatment leading to injury and death.
Slater and Gordon says about eight per cent of the group has lodged objections to what is believed to be Australia’s largest human rights class action settlement. The firm will tell a judge on Monday that the settlement is the best option for group members in terms of receiving compensation for the harms they have suffered, Slater and Gordon practice group leader Rory Walsh said.
Walsh said the detainees had spent most of their lives waiting for things to get better. “They’ve been waiting to find somewhere safe to live and many have now spent much of the last five years waiting in the inhumane conditions of Manus Island for the outcomes of what can be incredibly lengthy refugee status determinations,” he said.
“This settlement provides certainty and it provides acknowledgement. If it can help these detainees avoid waiting for one minute less in this one aspect of their lives, then this settlement is certainly in their best interests.” A letter seen by Guardian Australia and sent by Slate and Gordon to detainees states: “The reason someone would opt out of a class action is they do not want to be bound by its outcome — that is, they do not want to share in any benefit that comes from the resolution of the claim, and they do not want to be prevented from participating in a separate case concerning the same issues”.
The letter also says that Slater and Gordon does not agree with criticisms from asylum seeker advocates that the settlement amount was not enough. “Although no amount of money is ever going to be able to properly recognise what group members have been through at Manus regional processing centre, the value of this claim is not a matter of people’s subjective opinions: it is what a court would award after hearing all of the evidence,” it states. Boochani, who has written about the conditions in Manus detention centre, told Guardian Australia that while many of the detainees believe the settlement was not enough to hold the government to account, they signed-up to the settlement because they felt there was no hope of taking further court action.
While Boochani has signed up to the settlement, he said it would never cover the mental, physical and emotional suffering. “But we have been here more than four years and people need the money to support their children so have signed up, because they feel they will never have a chance to make another challenge to the government in the future,” he said. “They feel they have no choice.” The group members must register their claims before September 25 to receive their share of the $70m, with 1,346 detainees currently registered.
More than 160 people have lodged objections but the majority of those have also registered to be part of the settlement if it is ultimately approved by the Victorian supreme court. The parties and independent legal counsel for the objectors will on Monday make submissions to Justice Cameron Macaulay, who will announce his decision at a later date.
Walsh said the government and other defendants agreed to appoint and pay for an independent law firm to act for those group members who want to opt out of the proceeding. “In our view, this case warranted the appointment of independent legal representation because we do not believe this settlement should be forced on any group member who does not want to participate.” More than 50 group members have asked the court for more time to opt out, which would preserve their legal rights to take separate action.
