Policy switch on detention of children denied Uncertainty: Despite a number of minors being transported off Manus Island on Thursday, the federal government has denied changing its stance on the detention of children at the facility. The federal government has denied changing its stance on the detention of children at the controversial "regional processing facility "on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, despite flying some 70 people, including a number of minors, off the island on Thursday. Advocacy group GetUp! claimed the government's removal of such a large group from Manus represented a "hard fought and long overdue" victory for the campaign to keep minors out of detention. But a spokesman for Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor said late on Friday "this is not a shift in policy, families still remain liable for transfer to regional processing." A government source said: "This does not represent the end of families or children on Manus. That interpretation is incorrect. There was no official announcement from either Mr O'Connor or his department about the long-term policy options for Manus. A departmental officer confirmed that some children remained on the island and would not reveal when, or if, plans were also being made for their departure. "There is an operational decision that's been made to move this group but it's not for me to speculate on whether this is part of a broader policy decision, you would need to talk to the minister's office about that," the official said. Other advocacy groups were cautious in their response to the news that some children had been taken off the island, because of uncertainty about the government's real intentions. ChilOut's campaign director Sophie Peer said her group had been told there were 22 children on the island several days ago, and 10 remained. "It's quite clearly an admission that the Manus policy has failed," she said. We understand that the government may not want to come out at this point and say that. There is no point in the opposition crowing about this either, as they are suggesting the same kind of regime but in a different location. Pamela Curr from the Asylum Seeker Research Centre said reports she had received from those who had tended the children on Manus were that they had been in a "bad condition psychologically." "The people who were working with the children in the camp are deeply disturbed by their state and anybody who visited says the same," she said. Manus Island was not a sustainable solution for family groups or singles, she added. "You are taking people who have never been in the tropics into a highly malaria-prone area and putting them on long-term drugs, and they have problems," Ms Curr said. In April, Mr O'Connor said he was contemplating no change to the "composition" of those being detained on Manus.