ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 assesses offshore processing and resettlement in Papua New Guinea, which cost Australian taxpayers nearly A$4 billion during the Stop the Boats! era. This chapter sets out the extraordinary political and legal developments that led to the closing of the Regional Processing Centre (RPC) on Manus Island. It considers the impact of long-term detention and dislocation on transferees, and how some of them became remarkable figures in Australian politics and society without ever setting foot in the country. It highlights the brutality and costs of Australia’s border policies and the resilience of many of the irregular migrants who confronted them. Durable solutions were belatedly found for many of the people transferred to RPCs vis resettlement deals with the USA and New Zealand.
