An Australian activist group says the Australian government is doing its best to wash their hands of the plight of a group of West Papuan asylum seekers, which have been transferred from the Torres Strait to Papua New Guinea for processing.

A spokesman for Freedom Flotilla, Ruben Blake says the asylum seekers took part in a welcoming ceremony involving the handover of sacred water and ashes from Australian Aboriginal elders in the Indonesian province of West Papua.

He says as a result they faced a crackdown from Indonesian security forces, which led to them seeking asylum in Australia.

The West Papuans were intercepted in the Torres Strait on Wednesday and sent to PNG on Thursday. Mr Blake has told Pacific Beat the Australian government has handed them over to PNG authorities.

"What the Australian government seems to be pushing for is that they will be resettled along with a population of West Papuan refugees numbering 10 thousand or more in PNG where people in Port Moresby have been reported as being seem recently," he said. "The situation is there is really squalid conditions."

Mr Blake says the Australian government is attempting to stop the asylum seekers from gaining access to legal representation. He says it has a responsibility to consider the West Papuan's claims for asylum.

"We believe they still have a right, as they have claimed asylum in Australia and the Australian government still have a responsibility to hear their claims for asylum and to settle these people who would clearly be recognised by any court as refugees."