Medivac bill sinks New Zealand resettlement option for refugees

The Coalition has hardened its stance against an offer to resettle 150 refugees a year, saying new medivac laws have sunk the idea.

Scott Morrison says the option to resettle refugees in New Zealand is even more unlikely after the medivac bill was passed. Picture: AFP

The Coalition has hardened its stance against the New Zealand offer to resettle 150 refugees a year from Australian offshore detention, saying it was even less likely since the passing of the medivac laws.

Last year in October the Morrison government slightly softened its language on the issue, suggesting if parliament passed new laws banning asylum seekers who had been on Nauru or Manus Island from ever coming to Australia they could take up the offer.

The so called “lifetime ban” laws would prevent refugees, if they gained New Zealand citizenship in the future, from gaining a visa to Australia.

But on Friday, Mr Morrison said had no plans “whatsoever” to agree to the deal.

“The Australian government has no plans to take up that arrangement whatsoever and that is particularly now more pertinent on the basis of what happening in the parliament last week. I think that now makes that even more difficult than it was before,” Mr Morrison said.

Mr Morrison said the offer was “non-consistent” with the government’s border protection policies.

“We appreciate the offer, I should stress, it has been made by successive governments, we appreciate the friendliness of the offer, and its genuineness”.

“But in terms of Australia’s security interests and how we manage our borders, we don’t believe it is consistent with that, particularly now after what happened in parliament last week.”

Labor’s Immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann said Labor still wanted to accept the offer from New Zealand if elected and Mr Morrison should have taken up the offer earlier.

“Scott Morrison is choosing to leave vulnerable people to languish in indefinite detention — this reeks of desperation from a petulant Prime Minister,” Mr Neumann said.

“Labor, if elected, will accept New Zealand’s generous offer to resettle refugees with appropriate conditions similar to those under the US arrangements, and negotiate other third country resettlement options as a priority.”

The Coalition had hardened its stance against the New Zealand offer to resettle 150 refugees a year from Australian offshore detention, saying it was even less likely since the passing of the medivac laws.

Last year in October the Morrison government slightly softened its language on the issue, suggesting if parliament passed new laws banning asylum seekers who had been on Nauru or Manus Island from ever coming to Australia.

The so called “lifetime ban” laws would prevent refugees, if they gained New Zealand citizenship in the future, from gaining a visa to Australia.

But on Friday, Mr Morrison said had no plans “whatsoever” to agree to the deal.

“The Australian government has no plans to take up that arrangement whatsoever and that is particularly now more pertinent on the basis of what happening in the parliament last week. I think that now makes that even more difficult than it was before,” Mr Morrison said.

Mr Morrison said the offer was “non-consistent” with the government’s border protection policies.

“We appreciate the offer, I should stress, it has been made by successive governments, we appreciate the friendliness of the offer, and its genuineness”.

“But in terms of Australia’s security interests and how we manage our borders, we don’t believe it is consistent with that, particularly now after what happened in parliament last week.”