Dear Prime Minister,

This letter is written on behalf of the fifteenth asylum seeker on Manus Island, Mr XXX XXX. The situation of Mr XXX and all the other detainees on Manus Island and Naura "has become increasingly dire and untenable, exacerbated by the indefinite nature of their time [there]." This urgent language is not mine, but that of a spokesperson for the UN high Commissioner for human rights, Ravina Shamdasani.

How quickly can you address the UN's concerns by settling the asylum seekers in Australia? Or is Australia to continue on its way to becoming a pariah state?

Yours faithfully

Ruth Halbert