Labor keen to shut ‘back door’ on refugees but not for ‘lifetime ban’
LABOR agrees with the government that the “back door” to Australia must be closed as part of any deal to settle refugees in New Zealand. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was open to stopping the refugees on Nauru from migrating to Australia.
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LABOR agrees with the government that the “back door” to Australia must be closed as part of any deal to settle refugees in New Zealand.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was open to stopping the refugees on Nauru from migrating to Australia but would never agree to the government’s broad “lifetime ban” on entering the country.
Earlier this week Prime Minister Scott Morrison softened the government’s opposition to the NZ deal, indicating he would consider it if parliament agreed to ban those who arrived illegally by boat from ever entering Australia. He was hoping to deflect the pressure he was facing to get children off Nauru on to Labor, on the assumption that Mr Shorten would never agree to the proposal.
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Pressure on Mr Morrison over the issue intensified after Liberal backbenchers Craig Laundy, Russell Broadbent and Julia Banks pleaded for a humanitarian intervention for up to 80 who remained on the Pacific island.
Opposition Immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann rejected the proposal “in its current form” because it would apply to all resettlement deals and would mean those settled in the US would be banned from entering Australia decades later for temporary vists such as a short business trip.
Immigration Minster David Coleman has reportedly began canvassing crossbenchers support for the lifetime ban but has not spoken to Labor.
Crossbenchers have indicated they would also want the proposal to only apply to NZ.
NZ Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters yesterday warned his country may withdraw its offer to resettle the detainees if the federal Parliament passed lifetime bans.
Mr Peters said NZ would have to consider whether it would be creating “second-class citizens”.
“Do we, in our endeavour to be humanitarian about it, end up with a substandard level of citizenship, which is not what this country is about?” he said.
It comes as the Nauruan government kicked out Australian senior medical officer Nicole Montana for “breaching the rules”. It forced Médecins Sans Frontières off the island last week.
A Home Affairs spokesman said it was a matter for the Government of Nauru and IHMS.
A spokesman for IHMS said she was stood down on October 16 for breaching regional processing centre rules, but would not specify what those were.
“A replacement Senior Medical Officer is already in Nauru; there has been no impact on the services provided to transferees,” the spokesman said.