Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says he'll be going into today's meeting on offshore processing for asylum seekers in the right spirit.
Mr Morrison says the government's put up a proposal and that's what will be discussed.
He's told ABC radio it's about getting the right policy in place and he'll be focussed on what the opposition supports rather than what it's against.
Mr Morrison says the opposition's consistently outlined its concerns about Malaysia which the government has neither
acknowledged or addressed.
The federal government and opposition will meet in a bid to thrash out a deal, with Immigration Minister Chris Bowen declaring "today is the test".
Mr Bowen says he believes opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison is a man of good faith and they could reach an agreement.
But he says it depends on whether the Liberal party has given Mr Morrison the authority to do so.
"Today is the test, isn't it? We are going to have a meeting today between the government and the opposition. That is a welcome step. I wish it had happened nine days ago, but I really do genuinely welcome the fact that it's going to happen today," Mr Bowen told ABC Radio on Friday.
"The test is whether that meeting is held in good faith. If we are going to have a meeting where we lecture each other about the benefits of our policy and the drawbacks of the other side's policy, then there's no point.
"We'll see this afternoon."
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has again rejected the government's Malaysia plan, saying it wouldn't work.
What does work, he said, is offshore processing in Nauru, temporary protection visas and the option to turn boats back where it's safe to do so.
The government has rejected a return to temporary protection visas and says turning boats back won't work.
It says Nauru would work only as part of a broader solution that also involves Malaysia.
Mr Bowen said the government believed Nauru by itself was no solution as it simply served as a detour for asylum seekers on the way to Australia.
"I saw Tony Abbott say if you've got Nauru, you don't need Malaysia - dead plain wrong. We need the Malaysia agreement because you need that disincentive," he said.
"We need Malaysia plus we need one other."
Mr Bowen said Nauru was another detention centre, "Christmas Island further away", which would be no deterrent.
"But if it's part of a regional framework, it complements the agreement with Malaysia, then it can play a role," he said.
"We still have concerns about Nauru, of course we do, but this is about coming to the table in a spirit of compromise to get it done."
Mr Bowen said the Australian people expected something to be done.
"The Australian people are looking at us saying both sides support offshore processing - surely you can sort it out. I think they are right," he said.
The meeting will also be attended by Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop.
Mr Morrison said the government had provided a proposal, which would be discussed at the meeting.
"We are doing that in the right spirit," he told ABC Radio.
"It's about getting the right policy and I am focused on what we need to support, not what we oppose."
Mr Morrison said the opposition had consistently outlined its concerns about Malaysia, which the government had neither acknowledged nor addressed.
He said the government could start the process of reopening Nauru immediately by just telephoning the Nauru government.
Temporary protection visas could be implemented with the stroke of a pen, without legislation, before Christmas.
"That would send a very strong message that change is on it's way, but that's only going to happen if change is on it's way. Whether there's change on the way is up to the government," Mr Morrison said.
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