Scott Morrison to monitor Malaysia

OPPOSITION immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said he would visit Malaysia to compare conditions with those on Nauru.

AS Nauru applied to ratify the UN refugee convention, opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said he would visit Malaysia to compare conditions with those on the island republic.

The move is calculated to keep political pressure on the Gillard government after Mr Morrison's trip to Nauru with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott last weekend.

Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen faced a security scare yesterday when he was confronted by protesters at a refugee convention in Sydney.

The minister had just begun a speech at the University of NSW when about 30 protesters burst past university security and into the lecture theatre.

As they chanted slogans -- including "lock up Gillard, throw away the key" -- Mr Bowen stopped his speech, saying: "We'll just let our guests have their say."

But some of the placard-waving protesters were able to get within metres of the minister. His two bodyguards had temporarily left to push others out the back of the theatre. It took about 10 minutes for more police to arrive.

As the plan to swap asylum-seekers with Malaysia has stalled over Australia's insistence on safeguards, Mr Bowen insisted that those sent there would be protected. "Those protections are being built into the operational arrangements that underpin the agreement," he said.

There are now 274 people detained in "limbo" on Christmas Island since the government announced the Malaysian deal.

Last week, that figure included 47 children aged between three and 16, of whom 16 were unaccompanied minors.

Yesterday, Nauru President Marcus Stephen signed the instruments of accession to the 1951 UN convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 protocol. Justice Secretary David Lambourne said in 90 days Nauru would become a party to the convention.

Mr Bowen said he was confident a High Court challenge would not derail the Malaysian deal.

A Kurdish mother and her son, who have been told their asylum claims will be processed in a third nation, are challenging the plan. They have argued they should be reunited with the woman's husband, who has been granted refugee status in Australia.

Mr Morrison said last night he wanted to see for himself what sort of treatment asylum-seekers sent to Malaysia would face.

"The visit will get beyond government offices and will examine where people sent to Malaysia under the government's people swap deal may live and hope to survive," he said.

"I want to see the schools and health facilities, if any, that will be available to asylum-seekers sent to Malaysia.

"In Nauru, no one will be caned."

Additional reporting: Lanai Vasek