More than 40 men are being detained in a hotel in
Melbourne's northern suburbs, in what might as well be called
'no man's land'.
Evacuated from Papua New Guinea under the previous medevac
transfer system, they are now stuck in limbo, at the mercy of yet
another political decision that has put their lives at risk.
Some of these men arrived at the Mantra hotel as far back as
July, brought to Australia under the original medevac laws
introduced at the end of 2018, which allowed sick asylum seekers
and refugees to be transferred to Australia for treatment on the
recommendation of an expert medical panel.
But those laws were recently repealed in Parliament, and the
future of these men is uncertain.
