After the plan was blocked by the Greens and the Coalition, both of which had the individual numbers to pass the laws, the surge of boats increased. Another 600 people died.

Under the plan which was designed to have the same effect as turning back boats, 800 boat arrivals would be flown back to Malaysia as a deterrent.

Labor offered the Coalition to re-open Nauru, look at reintroducing temporary protection visas and expand the humanitarian refugee intake by 4000.

Then-Labor prime minister Julia Gillard accused the opposition of wanting the boats to keep coming because it suited the Coalition politically.

Mr Abbott said last week even though he doubted the plan would have worked "letting it stand would have been an acknowledgement of the government of the day's mandate to do the best it could, by its own lights, to meet our nation's challenges."

Scott Morrison is looking at possibly altering the proposed superannuation rules. AFR

"It would have been a step back from the hyper-partisanship that now poisons our public life," he said.

18C off agenda


One conservative said Mr Morrison was being unfair to Mr Abbott given it was such decisions that helped build his career inside the Liberal Party.

Mr Morrison also drove another nail in the coffin of plans by conservative rebels to rekindle a push to amend or scrap section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. Mr Abbott dropped the push when he was prime minister following a backlash from moderate MPs and ethnic groups, as well as a fear it would alienate Muslims at a time when community support was needed for national security.

Mr Abbott also said in his speech last week that he should have tried to amend the section rather tha repeal it but he concluded that now, "there's no real prospect of change".

Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi, with the support of a clutch of colleagues and Senate crossbenchers, plans to introduce a private member's bill when Parliament resumes. It has no chance of passing and Mr Morrison said it was not a priority.

"It doesn't help me reverse the deficit, it doesn't help me pay back the debt, it doesn't help me get one extra person in a job and it doesn't lead to one extra company investing in Australia so you can appreciate that it is not at the top of my list."