The head of the powerful doctors' lobby has come under fire for defending the healthcare provided to asylum seekers on Nauru, after insisting they receive a "very high level" of care.
Australian Medical Association president Michael Gannon praised the care provided to asylum seekers by the Department of Immigration when asked whether three women seeking abortions on Nauru, where the procedure is illegal, should be brought to Australia.
He said immigration authorities were dealing with a "difficult" situation, where patients transferred to Australia for treatment then launched legal proceedings in order to stay.
"When a patient is transferred to the Australian mainland, they normally have refugee advocates, refugee lawyers claiming asylum on the mainland of Australia once they're here," he told ABC radio on Wednesday.
Greens Leader Richard Di Natale labelled the comments appalling, accusing Dr Gannon of having a political bias.
"Australian doctors I have spoken to are increasingly concerned about the direction of the AMA leadership," he said.
"This is part of an alarming change of direction from the AMA leadership, where evidence appears to be sacrificed in order to support a political position."
He said under the AMA's previous president Brian Owler, the organisation was campaigning to condemn the poor healthcare received by those on Manus and Nauru.
Dr Gannon doubled down on his comments during an address to the National Press Club in Canberra, arguing journalists rarely asked him to comment on cases of people receiving treatment in remote towns like Weipa.
The AMA believed patients should be transferred to Australia if the appropriate care was not available or legal on Nauru or Manus Island, he said.
"This is a hotly contested political issue. I am not an immigration expert," he said.
"But the cases of some of the deaths have been subjected to a root cause analysis, so the same level of scrutiny that occurs for an Australian patient in an Australian hospital."
Dr Gannon said the AMA had over the past year developed a relationship with the chief medical officer of the Immigration Department.
He received briefings from the private companies providing health services on Nauru and Manus Island.
"Where possible, within the confines of patient confidentiality, we investigate them and advocate on behalf of those patients," he said.
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