Bill Shorten accepts security briefing on medivac bill

The Opposition Leader has flagged a possible compromise with the Coalition over Kerryn Phelps’ offshore processing bill.

The Labor-backed refuge­e medivac bill would “drastically limit ministerial discretion” over who could enter Australia. Picture: Getty

Bill Shorten has paved the way for a compromise on a contentious refugee medivac bill and flagged a possible Labor back-down from its support for a proposed overhaul to offshore processing championed by key independent MP, Kerryn Phelps.

The Opposition Leader today raised the prospect of striking a deal with the government after agreeing to meet with officials from the Department of Home Affairs early next week to receive a briefing on the implications of the medivac bill.

The Australian has revealed that intelligence agencies and the Australian Government Solicitor have warned the medivac bill would “drastically limit ministerial discretion” over who can enter Australia by transferring that responsibility to doctors.

In a change of tone, Mr Shorten said he was prepared to “listen to the facts” and indicated his preference was to reach a bipartisan position that prioritised the medical needs of refugees on Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

“I do think if there’s middle ground, we should try and find it,” Mr Shorten said. “This is all about making sure that people in our care, no matter what the circumstances, receive appropriate medical quality care. That’s what’s driving us. We’ll hear what the government has to say ... We’ll take the briefing from the department early next week and we’ll obviously always listen to the facts”.

The Australian revealed today the Australian Government Solicitor had warned the Morrison government that the Labor-backed refugee medivac bill could render the government powerless to stop convicted murderers and rapists from being transferred to Australia.

Despite his shift in language, Mr Shorten was also careful to maintain Labor’s support for changes that would hand greater responsibility for medical transfers to independent medical experts.

He said the legislation backed by Dr Phelps was still “worth supporting”, but did not dismiss the prospect that it could benefit from “more work”.

“Labor is supporting the Phelps amendments,” he said. “We will clearly hear what the government has to say”.

Attorney-General Christian Porter has revealed that advice from the Australian Government Solicitor directly contradicted arguments by Labor that the home affairs minister would retain ultimate discretion to reject anyone convicted of violence offences under the definition of “national security” in the ASIO Act.

Identifying the problems in the medivac bill, Mr Porter told The Australian: “The definition of security (in the ASIO Act) also includes the ‘protection of Australia’s territorial and border integrity from serious threats’. But this definition is also limited in its scope and would not allow the Minster discretion to refuse transfer to anyone who could be a threat to the community in a more general sense such as because they were a convicted murderer or rapist”.

“The case law establishing the narrow scope for the minister here is that the Full Federal Court has stated that not all people smuggling activities will enliven the definition of ‘security’ in the ASIO Act.

“What this means is that the Minister would not be able to use discretion to prevent a person’s transfer to Australia (as dictated by the two doctors) simply because the subject person had earlier attempted to enter Australia unlawfully, even if that person had also been convicted of serious offences such as murder or rape. Those facts in themselves would not be a basis for refusing the transfer”.

“Ultimately in legal and practical terms the minister’s discretion to ever override the decision of the proposed panel of doctors would be very limited.

“Conversely, two doctors would have the broad and effective power to determine which person in offshore facilities should come to Australia without the Minister having any ultimate say in that decision”.