Iranian asylum seekers found not be refugees should go back to Iran, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.
But Iran has been unwilling to accept reluctant returnees, with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to seek to persuade Tehran to change its policy when she visits next week.
More than 10,000 Iranian asylum seekers travelled by boat to Australia in the period 2010-13.
Those found not to be refugees have proved unwilling to return, with Australia unable to enforce their departure in the face of the Iranian government reluctance to have them back.
That contrasts with large numbers of Sri Lankans involuntarily repatriated.
Some 7000 Iranians remain in the community on bridging visas while others are in immigration detention, many on Manus Island.
Mr Abbott said the government was dealing with the Labor legacy of more than 50,000 illegal boat arrivals.
He said some would be found to be refugees.
"Some of them won't, and it is important that those found not to be refugees go home and this is where we will be talking to the Iranian government about taking back people who are Iranian citizens because they deserve to be in Iran," he told reporters in Sydney.
"Those who are not found to be refugees should go back to their home country. If their home country is Iran, that's where they belong."
Most of the Iranian are unlikely to be granted asylum. Former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr branded them as economic refugees fleeing the impact of western sanctions, not political persecution.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten backed the principle of repatriating those found not be refugees.
"We will wait and see what Julie Bishop produces in her talks with Iran. We want to see the detail," he told reporters in Melbourne.
Mr Shorten said any arrangement needed to be consistent with international obligations, with asylum seekers afforded due process and their claims properly assessed.
"But in the event they are found not to be refugees, then they should be supported to go home as soon as possible."
Greens immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said this would place the lives of men, women and children at high risk.
"What kind of guarantees will the Australian government get to ensure that people sent back to Iran are looked after and kept safe," she told reporters in Adelaide.
"I fear there's really no guarantees that could be made, and even so you have got to question whether the Australian government cares that much about them."
Share
