Prime Minister Julia Gillard is seeking to quell growing calls from within her own party to abandon the offshore processing of asylum seekers.
Ms Gillard has dismissed reports that her leadership is under threat in the wake of the High Court's decision this week to quash the government's Malaysian people-swap deal.
She is now waiting on the solicitor-general's legal advice on the ramifications of the court's decision before attempting to formulate a new policy.
She has so far refused to rule out resurrecting the detention centre on the tiny island of Nauru - if she can legally do so - despite levelling intense criticism at the Howard government's Pacific Solution.
But Labor's Left faction has made her job harder by declaring it wants all asylum seekers processed in Australia.
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Left convener Doug Cameron on Friday said his faction had "unequivocally" determined to return to the principles set out in the Labor party platform.
"The party platform basically says that we should process people onshore and that mandatory detention is only to identify health issues, people's identity and security risks," Senator Cameron told ABC radio.
Ms Gillard said Senator Cameron and other party members were entitled to their views but added: "I believe we should get the legal advice before people rush to judgment."
Lawyers on Friday condemned Ms Gillard for voicing her displeasure with the court's verdict and singling out Chief Justice Robert French for supposedly issuing contradictory judgments.
Australian Lawyers Alliance President Greg Barns said Ms Gillard's comments undermined the rule of law.
"Attacks by politician on judges are becoming all too frequent," he said.
Senior Liberal figure Eric Abetz said the comments were "completely unbecoming" of a prime minister.
But Ms Gillard is refusing to retreat from the comments.
"What I did was point out matters of fact, and I think Australians are entitled to those facts and I don't resile from one word," she said.
Ms Gillard is refusing to release the legal advice the government relied upon to argue the validity of the deal, saying: "We don't routinely release legal advice."
The Australian Greens are urging the government to move quickly to process the more than 330 asylum seekers who had been slated for removal to Malaysia now in limbo on Christmas Island.
Under the deal first announced by Ms Gillard on May 7, the government had planned to send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia in exchange for 4000 already-processed refugees.
But the court's full bench agreed 6-1 that the policy was unlawful because Malaysia is not legally bound to provide proper protections for asylum seekers.
Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says he is confident Nauru is still a legal option.
Nauruan government spokesman Rod Henshaw said the country was keen to reopen the centre.
"The government of Nauru would only be too happy to sit down with the Australian government and work it all out," he told ABC Radio.
