Some federal MPs are considering returning to Canberra over the parliamentary winter break for talks about asylum-seeker policy.
Parliament rose for the six-week break shortly after 4am (AEST) on Friday, following a marathon sitting of the Senate to pass government legislation extending the Northern Territory intervention.
The lower house had to wait around to tick off upper house amendments.
Earlier the Senate rejected a bill that would have legalised the government's people-swap deal with Malaysia and permitted the reopening of a refugee processing centre on Nauru.
Liberal MP Judi Moylan, a member of a cross-party group on refugees that met twice this week, believes the decision by Prime Minister Julia Gillard to force a vote on the bill was a waste of time.
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"I think it hindered the cause," she told ABC radio on Friday.
"I was very disappointed, because I felt in that multi-party meeting we had there was considerable goodwill."
Ms Moylan believes the group was close to formulating an arrangement that might have gained consensus in parliament.
Now the group is considering returning to Canberra over the winter break to continue its quest for a solution.
Its work will parallel that of a panel, led by former defence force chief Angus Houston, that was set up by the prime minister on Thursday.
The government also is setting up a cross-party reference group.
AAP bc/rl
