Along with many other doctors in Australia, I watched today in dismay as the medevac repeal bill was passed in the Senate. Much was made of the secret deal that Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie had been offered, then denied by the LNP.

Whatever the truth is will be hard to discern. The details about what will happen to those people on Nauru and Papua New Guinea who are currently in the medevac system are also unclear at this stage. This is not unexpected; nobody who has had any dealings with this government expected any less than dirty tricks, distractions and outright untruths, which we have listened to for the past few weeks as the rhetoric heated up, selected medical details were leaked to trusted news outlets and ministers trotted out well-rehearsed dog-whistling lines. It’s incredibly disheartening to see senators spouting tired old racist tropes about rapists and murderers.

Medevac repeal bill passes after Jacqui Lambie makes 'secret deal' with Coalition Read more

I watched the events unfold on my computer at work and then got back to a full clinic – business as usual. The doctors who worked so hard to campaign for the medevac legislation, those who spoke out publicly and attracted opprobrium and abuse from those in Australia who seem to delight in the ongoing cruelty being inflicted on these vulnerable people, will also be back at work seeing patients, with no interest in whether those patients are child molesters, fraudsters or murderers. We simply see a patient; the government apparently sees a way to achieve a political gain by disparaging the statements from every medical college.

Medevac gave unwell people offshore a glimmer of hope that their cases would be assessed on medical need. It appears that we now go back to the old situation, with the government spending thousands upon thousands of dollars trying to prevent cases being brought to court, only to fold at the last minute, which is what happened before. What a thoroughly pointless, expensive exercise. The rates of physical and mental suffering in this retained cohort used as effectively a human shield are unbelievable. To know it is all so preventable is just heartbreaking.

Today Australia became just a little crueller, just a little more sadistic. A bill that was working well was repealed because a self-professed Christian thought that his values aligned with denying care to the vulnerable. Absolutely nothing to do with border protection – boat turnbacks provide the assurance that boats will be stopped.

I saw firsthand the damage to people kept in indefinite detention. It was why I spoke out in the first place. I am not a politician; I simply wanted correct and timely medical care to be given to those in need of it. To see the politicians engage in this carnival of cruelty, dressing up their arguments with consistently debunked statements on stopping drownings at sea has been demoralising. God only knows what the refugees stuck offshore must think. Australia has yet again signalled to the world that we are prepared to inflict suffering on those who flee terror and risk dangerous journeys to seek asylum.

The dread of being deceived over medevac reveals Australia at its most grotesque | Barri Phatarfod Read more

What will happen now? The people stuck offshore will continue to decline. The doctors will continue to write reports and the lawyers will continue to bring the cases. These are actions that simply should not be necessary in a country that is acting as a responsible player on the international stage. I do think those who knowingly spoke half-truths and ignored the overwhelming evidence presented to the Senate committee looking at the medical care of refugees should hang their heads in shame. If they truly believe they are stopping drownings at sea then good luck to them; history will judge their actions. If instead they repeated those lines to further their political ambitions, then shame on them.

To those who continue to push for the timely and humane treatment of refugees; please don’t give up. This cruelty must stop at some point. The enduring disgrace that offshore processing has become, a financially ruinous debacle that extorts vulnerable nations and exerts a terrible price on those who asked us for help must end. Australia is a country with a once proud history of accepting people who sought refuge by boat. Now it is seen as one who seemingly delights in punching down on those same people. This episode continues; I hope for some actual leadership to end this sorry chapter in our history.

• Nick Martin is a GP and was formerly a senior medical officer on Nauru