PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A refugee from Australia’s offshore processing centre on Manus Island has drowned.

Refugees on the island said the man was Pakistani Kamil Hussain.

They said he went missing at around 4.00pm on August 2 at a waterfall, near the main town of Lorengau, on Manus Island.

Local people and police conducted a search and the man’s body was found two hours later.

“They found him after two hours of heavy searching by local residents and police,” refugee Aziz Adam said. “There were many people there.”

The Australian Department of Immigration confirmed the refugee’s death.

“The department is aware of a tragic drowning that has occurred on Manus Island involving a male refugee,” a spokesman said.

“Australian government representatives remain in close contact with the Royal PNG Constabulary, which is managing the situation.”

There are about 900 men on Manus Island detained under Australia’s offshore processing agreement with Papua New Guinea.

Those found to be refugees were encouraged to leave the secure detention camp and live in a transit centre closer to the main town.

All men on the island under the processing arrangement have since been allowed to leave the detention centre and move freely around the island since April, when Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court ruled the detention of asylum seekers was illegal. - PNC sources

Security needed to control sideline abuse

NEW ZEALAND – Out-of-control sideline abuse at children’s rugby games in New Zealand has forced one club to introduce security, and community police officers may soon be in regular attendance at games in Auckland.

Last year 25 per cent of referees quit in Northland after being subject to rising torrents of sideline abuse.

One referee was threatened with being knifed after a parent disagreed with his call, and explicit language was routinely thrown around by parents, coaches and young players.

Threats and incidences of violence are also not uncommon, and last year five senior Northland rugby teams refused to compete against the Whangaruru second division team, claiming a number of their players were patched Head Hunters gang members, who were threatening them after games.

“Sideline behaviour is the worst it’s ever been, so we’ve got to tackle it,” said Gavin Benney, a former officer who has been employed by Whangarei junior rugby to “police” matches.

“I think the abuse stems from a lack of respect for authority, just a sign of the times.”

Benney spends his Saturdays policing junior rugby matches in the Northland city of Whangarei, which embarked on a wave of reforms last year after one quarter of its referees quit – and no one was game enough to replace them.

Measures included fencing off pitches to keep spectators and coaches further from the action, and making team coaches stand by themselves behind the goal posts.

Whangarei junior rugby board members believe coaches can often be the instigators of aggressive behaviour, and Benney – a small-town cop for 30 years – agrees.

“I have the power to evict someone from the field. I haven’t done that yet but it’s an option because agro behaviour spreads quickly, and then it gets harder to control.”

In July, New Zealand police said they were planning to send community police officers to patrol children’s rugby matches in Auckland.

The pilot programme, called Operation Footy Cops, would involve officers hosting free barbecues at Saturday games to diffuse tension and keep an eye on sideline behaviour.

Vice president of Whangarei junior rugby Gary Younger said since the club’s crackdown on sideline behaviour children’s rugby games were “much calmer”.

He thought the club’s measures were so successful they should be rolled out New Zealand-wide.

“People take it for granted that abuse and aggression are a normal part of rugby culture and no one can change that,” he said. “That’s a weak excuse. We’ve shown how quickly an entrenched culture can be turned around.” - NZME