Scott Morrison could be dealt another crushing defeat when he tries to scrap controversial "medevac" laws.
After suffering a humiliating loss on industrial relations reforms, the prime minister is desperate to end the parliamentary year with a win by repealing the medevac laws.
He is locked in negotiations with Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie to unwind the legislation.
The laws gave doctors a greater say in transferring refugees from offshore detention to Australia for medical treatment.
Crossbench Senator Jacqui Lambie. Source: AAP
Senator Lambie has agreed to support the repeal on one condition, which she will not disclose.
Sources close to the negotiations have suggested her vote could be secured in return for accepting a longstanding New Zealand offer to resettle refugees in offshore detention.
But the government's leader in the Senate, Mathias Cormann, has effectively ruled that out.
"We will not make any amendments to the bill, we will not make any changes to what we are doing right now in relation to dealing with the legacy caseload that we've inherited from the Labor Party," he told Sky News.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has effectively ruled out any amendments to the repeal bill. Source: AAP
"It will be up to Senator Lambie to decide whether she wants to vote for stronger national security or against national security."
Senator Lambie remains optimistic the government will take up her offer.
"I know that the option that I have proposed can be done, it's only a matter of whether or not the PM and the minister want to use their will and make that happen," she said.
"That's all it comes down to right now."
But Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton does not appear open to accepting the New Zealand trade-off.
Paediatrician Professor David Isaacs (C) and 13 colleagues present an open letter signed by over 4,500 Australian doctors calling on Parliament to save medevac. Source: AAP
"We will hopefully get the vote through with the support of Jacqui but we are not going to compromise our position on border security," Mr Dutton said.
New Zealand has long offered to take 150 refugees per year from Australia's offshore processing centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.
The coalition and previous Labor governments have refused to accept the offer, claiming it could trigger an influx of asylum-seeker boats.
"I don't want boats restarting. I don't want people drowning again," Mr Dutton said.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has no idea which way the crossbenchers will vote.
"On this legislation what I'd say to crossbenchers is compare what the government said would happen - an end to borders, armadas flooding down from all ends of the world to Australia, an absolute crisis to our system - and I say to them none of that happened," he said.
"This is common-sense legislation that has worked."
Questions have been raised over One Nation's support for the repeal, given Pauline Hanson blindsided the government to knock back union-busting legislation.
But Senator Hanson insists she has been open in her support for the medevac repeal and will stick to her word.
The legislation is listed for debate on Monday.
