Dear fellow petitioners, Last month I received a letter from the Minister for Immigration, Peter Dutton, in reply to this petition which was tabled in Parliament in Canberra on 11 February. Surprisingly, the Minister's reply took eight months to send. Those of us who have contacted the Minister or the Prime Minister previously about the situation of the asylum seekers on Manus Island will be familiar with the message. He says that the health and safety of those in PNG is a matter for PNG and the Australian government merely acts as a mentor with greater experience. In reality, of course, the PNG government is a contractor employed by the Australian government to act on its behalf. Now, however, we hear that the Australian government plans to transfer the refugees to the USA. Again, the Australian government is attempting to hand over responsibility to another third party. It is my hope that Behnam and the other asylum seekers can be quickly brought to Australia without further delay. Furthermore there are many with critical illnesses who are not receiving appropriate medical care. Among these is Masoud Ali Sheikh, who was bashed on 8 October 2016 in Manus and who has epilepsy. Please see my petition for him at: https://www.change.org/p/prime-minister-malcolm-turnbull-bring-somali-refugee-masoud-ali-sheikh-from-png-to-australia-for-medical-treatment I would be grateful for your signature. Australia, not PNG, or any other country, has a duty of care to those who have sought asylum in our borders. Dr Diana Cousens