Burke flags Nauru and PNG investigation An independent investigation into riots that destroyed accommodation at the Nauru detention centre and allegations of asylum seekers being raped on Manus Island will be set up this week. Immigration Minister Tony Burke flagged the review on Saturday as it emerged the number of asylum seeker boat arrivals had risen to 16 since the Rudd government announced its hardline asylum seeker policy a week ago. Under the federal government's deal with Papua New Guinea, people arriving by boat will be denied resettlement in Australia, be processed on Manus Island and resettled in PNG if refugee status is approved. More than 1000 asylum seekers who have arrived since the announcement are undergoing health checks at Christmas Island ahead of transfers to PNG which are expected to start at the end of next week. Mr Burke, who returned on Saturday from visiting Nauru and PNG, said people smugglers would continue to "test the resolve" of the government, but the capacity to increase accommodation on Manus Island was "way, way, way in front of the rate of boat arrivals." Just over 100 asylum seekers on Manus Island, apart from 26 facing criminal charges, had been transferred to detention centres in Australia to make way for people who come under the new arrangements, Mr Burke said. He said conditions at Manus Island were "adequate." Mr Burke inspected sites earmarked for "rapid expansion" and discussed other possible sites with PNG officials. The federal government has hired a logistics company specialising in setting up mining camps. Mr Burke said in coming days the immigration department secretary would be announcing an independent review into the Nauru riots and Manus Island rape allegations. The review would establish facts, pass on relevant information to Nauru and PNG authorities and recommend improvements to avoid repeat incidents, he said. Last week, whistleblower security guard Rod St George claimed on SBS TV asylum seekers had been raped and tortured at Manus Island and had not be separated from the alleged perpetrators. Mr Burke said there would now be segregated areas set up so "individuals involved in forms of intimidation" could be separated. The Nauru detention centre was all but burned to the ground a week ago, when a large group of asylum seekers torched a health centre, accommodation blocks, offices and cars. Mr Burke said 151 asylum seekers on Nauru were facing criminal charges and potentially long prison terms following the riots which caused an estimated $60 million damage. " (They) torched buildings, sprayed fire extinguishers in the eyes of authorities and turned metal bars into weapons," Mr Burke said. "It would be wrong to assume that everybody who has (refugee) claims in Nauru was part of the action," he said. He rejected links between the rioting and the condition of accommodation facilities and said the rioters should not be painted as victims. Mr Burke vowed to rebuild the facilities. Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison accused Mr Burke of making lots of "big bold claims," a mantra he repeated eight times in three minutes at a press conference in Sydney on Saturday. Mr Morrison said even delivering enough beds for half the number of arrivals would be a tough challenge at 600 beds a week. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said dumping asylum seekers on Manus Island was "a humanitarian time bomb."