The federal government says it is seeking support from the Labor Party to pass laws to make sure no asylum seekers who tried to come to Australia by boat, even those found to be refugees, can ever enter the country.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he will introduce legislation in the next parliamentary sitting week to amend the Migration Act, and put into law what he says had been a long-standing policy that was first announced by former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2013.
He says Australia has one of the most generous humanitarian programmes in the world because the government has command of its borders.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says it's one of the strongest announcements made by the current government in relation to border protection policy.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says the government will enshrine in law what had been a long-standing policy, going back to Kevin Rudd's second prime ministership in 2013.
"This is a tough message we are sending to the people smuggling syndicates and those who pay people smugglers to try and enter Australia," she told ABC TV on Sunday.
"They will not be settled in Australia and they won't be visiting Australia."
