Reporter: Gillian Bradford
Eleanor Hall: The lawyer representing many of the Papuans who've been given protection in Australia, says the public should not lose sympathy for them just because their bid to come here was highly organised.
The ABC has spoken to independence leaders in the Indonesian province of Papua who have confirmed that they handpicked the 43 asylum seekers who came to Australia in January this year, knowing that they had the best chance of being granted protection. They also said there were plans for more Papuans to set off for Australia though they did not give any details.
The Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone says she finds it depressing that the Papuan refugees bid to come to Australia was well organised. But Refugee Lawyer David Manne has told Gillian Bradford that nothing these people have done makes their claims for protection less genuine.
David Manne: There's one simple question in all of this, and that is, did and do the 43 West Papuan refugees face a real chance of facing fundamental human rights abuse in the form of persecution if returned to West Papua, or anywhere else in Indonesia?
And what is crystal clear is that on an objective assessment, based on legal criteria, the Australian Government found that all 43 West Papuan refugees faced the real chance of facing brutal human rights abuse at the hands of Indonesian authorities if returned to West Papua or anywhere else in Indonesia.
That's the simple question, and the answer remains completely unaltered by any of these conspiracy theories, which are being peddled at the moment about how the West Papuan refugees are out in Australia.
Gillian Bradford: Do you think some Australians though, will think they've been played for fools here, that this was planned over a long period of time, their bid to come to Australia?
David Manne: Look, I'm sure Australians will once again, as they have with the 43 West Papuans, understand that a fair, just, decent and humane response is needed to people who flee in fear for their lives like the West Papuan refugees, and that if they are found to be genuine refugees, that they must be protected here.
Gillian Bradford: Are you concerned now, that because this information is out there, that it was an organised bid, that that may affect the asylum chances of others who plan to come to Australia?
David Manne: Look, it's crucial in all of this that we focus on the fundamental issue, and that is the protection needs of innocent, vulnerable people. It's crucial that politics not prevail over the protection needs of innocent and vulnerable people, who are refugees, such as the West Papuans.
Gillian Bradford: Amanda Vanstone says she finds this story depressing, to find that it was an organised arrangement, and she would implore Papuans not to do this, because it is the most dangerous way of seeking asylum.
David Manne: The issue is about whether or not people who arrive in Australia need protection from brutal human rights abuses at the hands of their governments, including the Indonesian Government.
The issue is not about whether or not anyone feels depressed about their situation, but whether or not they meet the legal criteria for refugee status – that's the crucial issue – and if they do, Australia has clear cut obligations under the refugees conventions and indeed domestic law in Australia, to provide protection to such people, so that they're not facing brutal human rights abuses in the future.
Gillian Bradford: Will you continue to represent any such Papuans who make their way to Australia?
David Manne: If we are requested to assist people who have genuine protection needs, we will do everything we can to assist them.
Nothing which has been suggested, none of the allegations or theories, or conspiracies that have been peddled recently alter the basic fact, and that is that people such as the 43 West Papuans who flee in fear for their lives and are found on an objective basis, an objective assessment, to be refugees, nothing has changed the fact that they deserve our protection.
Eleanor Hall: That's refugee lawyer David Manne, speaking to Gillian Bradford in Canberra.