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For two days, the men in the Manus Island
Centre have defied efforts by Australia and Papua New Guinea to
close the camp, saying they fear violence from the local
community if they are moved elsewhere.
The stand-off was a "disgrace," the star of the films
"Gladiator" and "Les Misérables" told his 2.7 million followers
in a series of messages on social network Twitter.
"I believe I could house and find jobs for six," Crowe tweeted.
"I'm sure there'd be other Australians who would do the same."
The stand-off has prompted condemnation, particularly from
bodies such as the United Nations, though Crowe's intervention
could spotlight the issue at a time when some detainees are
showing the ill-effects of having no food for two days.
A spokeswoman for Australia's immigration minister Peter Dutton
refused to comment.
She said there had been no change in the government's policy of
refusing to allow any asylum seekers arriving by boat to reach
Australian shores, and detaining them instead in camps in Papua
New Guinea and Nauru in the South Pacific.
The issue will be a key element of talks between Australia's
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his New Zealand counterpart
Jacinda Ardern on Sunday in Sydney.
Ardern has said a 2013 offer by former Prime Minister John Key
to resettle 150 refugees held in Australian detention centers
remains on the table.
Crowe, a New Zealand citizen who has lived in Australia for many
years, received the Best Actor award of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences in 2001, for his performance in
"Gladiator".
(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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