The Australian Government cannot just wash its hands of the people it exiled to Papua New Guinea, the Greens say.

“Today is a day to remember the people who died as a result of being illegally exiled to Papua New Guinea, and the countless other lives that were destroyed,” Greens Immigration spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“People who sought asylum in Australia remain Australia’s responsibility under international law, and no amount of bureaucratic maneuvering can change that fact.

Papua New Guinea's refusal to allow the men Peter Dutton is imprisoning on Manus Island to be abandoned means the government must bring them here to Australia, Greens Immigration spokesperson Nick McKim says.

"It is clear Peter Dutton and Malcolm Turnbull cannot abandon their political prisoners in Papua New Guinea, nor can they leave them in a half-demolished detention centre," Senator McKim said.

"There is only one choice - evacuate these men to Australia."

"The Liberals' offshore detention regime, fully supported by Labor, has created a humanitarian crisis."