Tanner rejects 'cruel' Pacific Solution

Mr Abbott on Thursday flagged a revival of Howard-era strategies such as establishing a detention facility for asylum seekers in another country.

He also vowed to bring back temporary protection visas (TPVs), which would limit a refugee's stay in Australia to three years.

Mr Tanner accused Mr Abbott of reaching for a "cheap populist
fix" to solve the contentious issue.

"This policy that Tony Abbott has announced is just about stoking prejudice, not about solving problems," he told Network Ten on Sunday.

"The arrangements that John Howard put in place didn't really have much of an impact about where asylum seekers ultimately ended up.

"The vast bulk of them ended up in Australia anyway. It damaged Australia's reputation internationally, it cost a lot of money and no outcome."

Mr Tanner said the "cruel" TPVs didn't stem the flow of asylum seekers but forced them to live in uncertainty about their futures.

He also questioned how much restoring the "Pacific Solution" detention policies would cost, and who would be involved.

The federal opposition's immigration spokesman has defended coalition plans to bring back parts of the Pacific solution.

A group of well-known dissidents within the Liberal Party scorned the plan announced by Tony Abbott last week, amid criticism that it hadn't been put to the party room first.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison has told ABC TV there was discussion at a backbench policy committee meeting in February, and the flow of boats must be stopped.

He says the coalition threat to turn boats carrying asylum seekers back would happen only in a very limited number of circumstances, and only if the vessels were seaworthy.