Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the government is 'determined' to make broad amendments to Australia's migration laws so it can persist with its asylum seeker swap deal with Malaysia in its campaign to smash people smuggling rings.
"We are determined to pursue the arrangement we have made with Malaysia," she told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
Ms Gillard earlier in the day received caucus backing for the planned legislative changes, after the High Court earlier in September overturned the government's deal, under which up to 800 asylum seekers will be sent to Malaysia in exchange for 4000 processed refugees.
A complementary processing centre in Papua New Guinea was the best solution, Ms Gillard said.
"But the amendments we will bring to the parliament will be broad amendments which will restore to executive government the ability to make the arrangements that it sees fit for the transfer and processing of asylum seekers in third countries," she said.
Ms Gillard ruled out Nauru as an option for offshore processing.
"The advice to government consistently has been crystal clear that having a processing centre on Nauru would not have the deterrence effect that we seek," she said.
The Howard government processed asylum seekers on Nauru but about 95 per cent of those people were resettled in Australia.
"People smugglers have got that message and they now understand that a processing centre on Nauru is really just like another Christmas Island," Ms Gillard said.
"It's a place where you are processed but if your claim is accepted you will be settled in Australia."
Ms Gillard said proposed changes to the Migration Act would allow a government to use former detention centres at Nauru and Manus Island for offshore processing.
"If there is a future Liberal government that has that as a perspective, then under the amendments we will bring to the parliament, that future government would be able to enact that plan," she said.
But the prime minister said the expert advice from immigration officials was Nauru would not act as a deterrent to people smugglers.
"Our advice couldn't be clearer," Ms Gillard said.
"That is why Malaysia, when we announced it, was the best option for smashing the people smuggler's business model, it remains the best option."
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said the government would test its planned legislative changes, which would give the minister more discretionary powers, with private and public sector legal minds.
"We are testing the proposed legislation to ensure it is as robust as possible," he said.
Ms Gillard said she was not asking Mr Abbott to agree with her about processing asylum seekers in Malaysia.
"He can criticise Malaysia up hill and down dale and I will maintain my objection to Nauru," she said.
"It's costly and it won't work and I don't believe Mr Abbott should be agitating for a solution that is costly and doesn't work.
"This is something else. This is about government having the power to act."
The Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act will be amended to enable decisions to be made with respect to minors.
The High Court ruled that an unaccompanied minor or child could not be removed from Australia without the written agreement of the immigration minister, which would be judicially reviewable.
Mr Bowen said the policy would not only apply to asylum seekers, but also to failed asylum seekers.
"They would be able to claim, under the High Court's ruling, that it was not in their best interest and they should not be removed from Australia, and that would be a claim which would be likely to succeed," he said.
Mr Bowen said the issue of unaccompanied minors was "very emotional and difficult" and he knew how strongly people felt about the issue.
"I know the issue of how to deal with unaccompanied minors has weighed on many immigration ministers," he said.
But Mr Bowen said the overriding obligation was to stop unaccompanied minors risking their lives on the dangerous boat journey to Australia.
"The overriding obligation is to say to parents, `do not risk the lives of your children to get the prospect of a visa in Australia'," he said.
The Labor Party had always been a strong supporter of multilateral agreements on issues around the world, Ms Gillard said.
"We believe in global engagement, we believe in multilateral engagement, we believe in signing and honouring things like the (United Nations) refugee convention.
"The proposal we have put as a government and the one we are determined to implement does acquit our obligations under the refugee convention."
Mr Bowen said the government previously had talked with Malaysia about involving the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in discussions with the people swap deal.
"One of the reasons why the UNHCR found this to be a workable arrangement was it involved Malaysia in the discussion about better protection outcomes across the region," he said.
