Refugee suicide attempts up on Manus after Australia election

Refugees in Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island say there is increasing desperation on the Pacific Island and at least 10 people have attempted suicide or committed self-harm following the re-election of Australia’s conservative government at the weekend.

For years, the Australian government has been sending asylum seekers who attempt to reach the country by sea to the remote Island of Manus and Nauru where they are held indefinitely with no chance of being resettled in Australia.

Many of the roughly 900 people on the Islands live in bad conditions and were hoping for a change in government to the left-leaning Australia Labour Party and a softening in Canberra’s hard line on asylum seekers.