Refugee fast-track hits a stop sign under Labor-Greens deal

Labor and the Greens have reached a deal to scrap fast-tracked processing of illegal maritime arrivals.

Labor home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally and Greens leader Richard Di Natale. Picture: Liam Kidston

Up to 4000 asylum-seekers who arrived by boat could remain in Australia for more than 500 days under a deal between Labor and the Greens that would scrap fast-tracked processing of illegal maritime arrivals.

The alliance between Labor and the Greens on key border protection measures, including a separate move to block the privatisation of visa applications, sets up a clash with the Coalition and indicates a softening of Bill Shorten’s asylum-seeker policies.

Immigration Minister David Coleman said Labor home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally was putting at risk the processing of “thousands of people who came here illegally on their watch”.

“Once again Labor and the Greens have teamed up to vote against a key border security policy,” Mr Coleman said.

“This should not come as a surprise — every time the government puts forward legislation to support our border security, Labor will frustrate and oppose.

“It should not be forgotten that this is the same party that put in place policies that led to 50,000 people arriving on 800 boats, 8000 children being forcibly placed in detention and the tragic death of 1200 people at sea.”

Mr Coleman said “contrary to the Twitter rants of Senator Keneally”, the fast-track process had “consistently been found to be fast and fair”.

A spokesman for Senator Keneally said Labor “does not support the fast-track process because the facts show it’s neither fast nor fair”.

Labor argues that, as of February last year, the average processing time from lodgment to a primary decision under the current program was 415 days for temporary protection visas and 316 days for safe haven enterprise visas.

The Australian understands the impact of a disallowance motion put forward by Greens senator Nick McKim — and supported by Labor — could see 4000 illegal maritime arrivals not be considered fast-track applicants.

According to the government, the Labor-Greens disallowance motion would result in application assessments blowing out from 23 days on average, as of June this year, to 504 days and place further stress on the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Coalition established a fast-track process through the Immigration Assessment Authority in 2015 to resolve the 30,500 legacy cases from previous Labor governments.

Under the IAA system, processing is 95 per cent faster compared with the AAT.

In his statutory review of the AAT, former high court judge Ian Callinan said the IAA was an “effective and fair decision-maker in the cases with which it deals”.

The total cost to Australian taxpayers of processing and supporting 50,000 illegal maritime arrivals has topped more than $17bn.

The government on Wednesday delayed debate on Senator McKim’s notice of motion to block IMA fast-tracking.

The Australian understands the Home Affairs Department has warned that preventing almost 1000 visa-processing staff, employed by the government, from processing visas would trigger a blowout in processing times.

The department has expressed concern the visa processing amendment, which ensures only APS employees can process visas unless it is in relation to a “health criterion”, could cripple Australia’s visa system and devastate key export industries and the inflow of skilled workers.