Greens were not consulted after migration bill blocked in the Senate, David Shoebridge says

Greens senator David Shoebridge says the Labor government has not tried to negotiate on its snap migration detainee bill since it was voted down, leaving its future unresolved.

Senator David Shoebridge said Labor’s migration bill was ‘cruel’ and necessitates ’thorough investigation’. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Greens senator David Shoebridge has decried the Albanese government’s “cruel” emergency migration laws, confirming that Labor has not sought to negotiate on its bill with the Greens.

Amid talk of a surprise session of parliament before the May budget to pass the proposed laws, Senator Shoebridge appeared on ABC Radio National to call for further inquiry into the proposed measures before legislation is passed.

“We’re always open to talk with the government. But no, we haven’t had those discussions [regarding passing the emergency migration bill],” he said.

“At the moment, I’m most excited to hear from the community, from the NGOs, (and) from the legal sector. I’m most keen to hear their analysis of the bill, and we’ve heard very clearly from them that they agree with the Greens that this bill is dangerous and unprincipled,” he said.

“The closer we look at this legislation, the more offensive it becomes. We have the government saying to us that in fact, anyone who’s been granted asylum is protected. Now of course, many people are rejected asylum through a grossly unfair system that has arbitrary time limits.

“I don’t know how else you can describe this legislation other than cruel.”

The legislation was brought to parliament by Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles as a response to the flow-on effects of the NZYQ High Court ruling last year, which overturned indefinite detention and saw 152 detainees released.

The bill, which authorised mandatory jail terms for those who did not assist in their deportation process, was voted down by the opposition and crossbench last week.

“(The Greens) absolutely would have rejected it outright, we simply didn’t have the numbers,” Senator Shoebridge said.

“The Greens don’t have a majority in the Senate. We work with the other political parties to do the best we can to represent our principles.

“It’s a critical part of the Senate’s job to put this off to a proper inquiry to thoroughly investigate the legislation.

“If somebody comes to Australia, and commits a serious offence, then there’s no special rule. If you come from overseas, you face the same criminal justice system as every other person in Australia … and it should apply equally to everybody regardless of where they come from.”

Labor’s deportation bill has been referred to a Senate committee, which will hand in a report by May 7.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong previously accused the Greens and Coalition of forming an “alliance” of “political convenience” to vote down the legislation.

The Greens senator from NSW raised his concerns over the bill’s potential to reverse prior verdicts on those deemed eligible for asylum in previous humanitarian crises, with Senator Shoebridge saying it could threaten long-standing citizens who “deserve stability and protection”.

“These are concerning new extreme powers to overturn prior positive asylum rulings, which significantly expands the class of people this potentially applies to,” he said,

“You could have migrants who arrived here seeking asylum from the Pinochet regime [the long-ago Chilean dictatorship] and now have stable, positive lives under threat of this reversal.”

Senator Shoebridge told the Australian that the Greens received no more than a 20-minute briefing on the bill before they were called to vote on the bill.

“You would’ve thought if there was anything credible here they would have endeavoured to explain it,” Senator Shoebridge said.