Christmas Islander denounces PNG plan

Labor's Papua New Guinea asylum seeker solution won't stop boats from making the perilous journey to Australia, a prominent Christmas Islander says.

Gordon Thomson, shire councillor and general secretary of the Union of Christmas Island Workers, said the threats faced by minority groups in countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan were compelling and often outweighed any concerns about going to PNG.

Mr Thomson, a Christmas Island resident for the past 15 years, said deportation to PNG via Christmas Island would be preferable in the eyes of many asylum seekers who otherwise faced 'a bullet in the head' in their strife-torn home nations.

Boat People. Getty/Sky Photo

He says if you're a Hazara in Afghanistan, you're not going to stay there.

Mr Thomson said the PNG policy was cruel and he hoped voters would come around to thinking Australia could do more for people in desperate situations around the world. Sky News