Cathy McGowan may support Scott Morrison on boats

Independent MP Cathy McGowan has left the door open to supporting the government’s changes to offshore processing.

Tony Abbott, the MP for Warringah at Manly Beach. Picture: John Feder

Independent MP Cathy McGowan has left the door open to supporting the government’s changes to offshore processing, a move that gives Scott Morrison hope of avoiding an embarrassing vote loss on the House of Representatives.

The Victorian MP has released a statement saying she has “noted” today’s announcement by the Prime Minister that he would install an independent medical panel to review the needs to transfer asylum seekers to Australia.

Labor and all independents except for Bob Katter would need to support a bill that puts doctors in control of medical transfers for it to become law.

“I see the government has written to the Opposition Leader Bill Shorten on this for Labor’s response,” she said.

“I will not give up on refugees and my voting record speaks for itself on this issue.”

Earlier, Tony Abbott said it would be “impossible” to maintain offshore processing if Labor and the independents back a bill to put the medical transfers from Manus Island and Nauru into the hands of doctors.

The former prime minister, who oversaw the implementation of Operation Sovereign Borders, said doctors should not decide who comes to Australia and the “circumstances under which they come”.

“Now I have a lot of respect for the medical profession but we all know that doctors always err on the side of compassion. Doctors are always, almost inevitably, going to say it would be better to treat someone in Australia than in PNG or on Nauru,” Mr Abbott told 2GB radio.

“It will be impossible to maintain offshore processing of illegal arrivals by boat if we say that doctors will have control of the whole thing.”

Mr Abbott said the boats will restart “as surely as night follows day” under a Shorten Labor government.

“This is the Labor problem. Labor always puts out the welcome mat for boat people and the trouble is if you lose control of your borders ultimately you lose control of your country,” he said.

“There would be literally millions of people who would try to get here if they thought getting here meant they could stay here.”

His comments echoed Immigration Minister David Coleman who wared the boats would start again if the crossbench and Labor banded together to pass the bill putting medical transfers from Manus and Nauru into the hands of doctors.

“It is absolutely critical that the bill doesn’t go forward. Because if the bill goes forward offshore processing comes to an end effectively. If offshore processing comes to an end then the boats will restart,” Mr Coleman told Sky News.

“The bill that Labor voted for (in the Senate last year) applies not only to people currently in offshore processing centres but also any new person who arrives.

“So the scenario is: a boat arrives, people are taken to Manus or Nauru, two doctors from Dapto say that they should come to Australia for assessment based on a phone call and they would come here.

“And as a consequence of that, in a short amount of time substantially everyone would be in Australia, and that would send a very clear message to people smugglers.”

Earlier, Independent MP Kerryn Phelps said she does not believe the crossbench will back down on supporting the legislation, making Scott Morrison exposed to an historic vote loss on the lower house of parliament next week.

The Wentworth MP, who has credited her by-election campaign for the final kids coming off Nauru, said the Prime Minister’s move to install an independent medical panel was not good enough.

She said the bill going before the House of Representatives next week was a better policy because there was no “layer of bureaucracy” before a decision was referred to a panel.

If Labor and the crossbench back a bill to allow medical transfers at the behest of two doctors it would have the numbers to become law and embarrass the Prime Minister.

“I haven’t seen anything in those reports that would encourage me, and I believe other crossbenchers, to change their view or their vote,” Dr Phelps told ABC radio.

“It is not appropriate for a bureaucrat or a politician to be able to veto the treatment of a person who is critically ill.”

Under Mr Morrison’s plan to appease crossbenchers and avoid a defeat on the floor of the House, a panel, appointed by the Immigration Minister, would be able to review assessments on the medical needs of asylum-seekers.

The panel cannot overturn decisions but can refer them to the Department of Home Affairs for reconsideration.

“It is not going to solve the problem because we still have bureaucrats making the medical decisions and then being reviewed by a medical panel,” Dr Phelps said.

“What we need to see is a fast tracking of these medical transfers and that is why the bill that is before the parliament is the preferred bill.”

Opposition communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland said Labor would consider whether Mr Morrison’s plan would be better than the bill to come before the House this month.

“On one hand we have seen Scott Morrison say these measures are completely unnecessary,” Ms Rowland told Sky News.

“And now there is this notion of this panel. We are very prepared to look at the detail but I think underlying all this, we should remember that we need to ensure that people who need medical care receive it.

“If that is on the advice of medical professionals then certainly they are the people who we should be taking that advice from.”