In the latest attempt to persuade cross-bench senators to back a controversial legislative change, the Immigration Minister, Scott Morrison, said he was willing to boost the humanitarian intake by 7500 to 18,750 over four years – but only if the other changes passed, too.
Labor and the Greens have opposed the legislation.
The measures in the bill include moves to resolve the cases of 30,000 asylum seekers already in detention – which the Government calls “the legacy caseload”.
The increased intake would cost about $100 million, to be funded through savings in the Immigration Department.
“I have been negotiating with senators who are interested in outcomes and solutions rather than the rhetoric we have heard from Labor and the hand-wringing we have seen from the Greens,” Mr Morrison said. He said he had negotiated with independent Senator Nick Xenophon, Family First’s Bob Day and the Liberal Democrats’ David Leyonhjelm.
The measures in the bill include moves to resolve the cases of 30,000 asylum seekers already in detention – which the Government calls “the legacy caseload”.
“That is why it's important that we deal with this matter this week,” he said. “If there is the opportunity to take children off Christmas Island before Christmas than I would like to see us do that this week.”
The legislation also entrenches moves to turn boats back to Indonesia and re-introduces TPVs.
“If there is the opportunity to take children off Christmas Island before Christmas than I would like to see us do that this week.”
“Cross-bench senators, I know, do not ideally support all the measures that are in this bill,” Mr Morrison said. “These are the Government's measures. What they have done is come forward constructively to be part of the way forward and to enable us to move on from the debilitating debates of the past.”
He has included provisions that any future changes to the intake must be done by regulation, meaning the Parliament could throw them out.
The legislation also entrenches moves to turn boats back to Indonesia and re-introduces TPVs.
“That intake cannot be reduced unless the instrument is changed which can be disallowed by the Senate,” he said.
He has also agreed to a request from Senator Leyonhjelm to ask the Productivity Commission to investigate new ways to attract economic migrants to Australia.
He said the proposed concessions were only possible because the Government’s policy had stopped asylum-seeker boats arriving in Australia.
“The measures and agreements the Government have given would not have been possible 12 months ago because the boats had not stopped.”
Mr Morrison dismissed as malicious the allegation that two heavily pregnant Iranian refugees who had refused to get off a bus in Darwin had been mistreated.
He denied allegations that they had been mistreated.
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