The Federal Government has abruptly pulled the contentious Australia-China extradition treaty in the face of a backbench rebellion and likely defeat in the Senate.

Key points: Decision to pull the treaty came abruptly this morning

Decision to pull the treaty came abruptly this morning Key ministers defended the deal until moments before a meeting to decide its fate

Key ministers defended the deal until moments before a meeting to decide its fate Labor signalled it would vote with crossbenchers including Cory Bernardi against the deal

The agreement has stoked widespread unease in Parliament, with MPs on both sides of politics arguing Australia should not send people to China because the country's judicial system is plagued with human rights abuses.

The Senate was also almost certain to scuttle the treaty, after Labor decided it would join the Senate crossbench and back a motion from newly-independent Senator Cory Bernardi to stop it being ratified.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the Government made the decision to temporarily withdraw it because it did not have the numbers to block Senator Bernardi's bill.

"I think it is far preferable for us to repeal the instrument and have further discussions ... that's the responsible thing to do," Ms Bishop said.

"We were relying on the Labor party to support it, because we don't have a majority in the senate we can't deliver it on our own ... so we regroup and keep discussing with Labor."

Labor's Shadow Cabinet decided last night it would vote against the treaty in the upper house.

The Opposition had already flagged its concerns about ratification in a parliamentary report released last year, calling for a review of the Extradition Act to ensure it was consistent with international legal obligations.

Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong maintained that Labor's decision was not aimed specifically at China.

Julie Bishop launched a staunch defence of the treaty. ( ABC News: Adam Kennedy )

"We appreciate that the Chinese government is very clear about wanting this treaty to be ratified at this stage," Senator Wong said.

"(But) the extradition act needs to be properly reviewed. This is not just in relation to the extradition treaty with China, but a number of other treaties which were discussed in the context of the joint standing committee's report."

Still, several ALP sources said the party also had specific concerns about China's legal system and a number of Labor MPs had mounted an internal campaign to ensure the party did not support the treaty.

The Opposition has not ruled out backing the extradition treaty in the future, and Ms Bishop said she would continue to negotiate with the ALP to try and reach an agreement

"As Foreign Minister I will continue to work with the Labor Party and the Chinese to see if we can find a way to ratify this extradition which I believe, and in my opinion, is undoubtably in the national interest" Ms Bishop said.

Government faced grumbling from its own backbench



The Government had also been trying to contain a minor revolt on the Coalition backbenches over the issue.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan yesterday briefed about 10 Coalition MPs who were concerned that people extradited China would not be able secure a fair trial.

Some of those MPs have also accused the Government of trying to avoid an internal debate on the agreement, which has been stuck in limbo for a decade after being signed by the Howard government.

They were also sceptical about the Government's assurances that safeguards within the agreement will offer sufficient protection to Australians deported there.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott told The Australian newspaper he shared their concerns.

"I'd be very, very cautious about ratifying this treaty at this time," he said.

Liberal Senator Eric Abetz also attended the briefing, and said that he wasn't reassured by what he heard.

Eric Abetz was considering crossing the floor on the treaty. ( AAP: Lukas Coch )

Senator Abetz said that some of his colleagues could have crossed the floor on the issue to vote against ratification if the treaty had not been pulled.

"Given China's poor track record on human rights and natural justice, I was grappling with how I could support such a regulation," Senator Abetz said.

"Given the long-held convention of Liberal members and senators having the freedom to cross the floor, should this matter have come to a vote I, along with a number of colleagues, may have been forced to cross the floor."

But the Foreign Minister said the backbenchers had not complained about the agreement while it was being scrutinised by parliamentary committees.

"I don't recall any of those now raising concerns, raising concerns during the treaty making process," Ms Bishop said.

And she shrugged off Mr Abbott's criticisms — pointing out that the Coalition had supported the agreement when Mr Abbott was in power.

Sudden turnaround came this morning

The Coalition's decision to pull the treaty this morning came suddenly.

Cory Bernardi stood by his motion. ( ABC News: Nick Haggarty )

Ms Bishop had been defending the treaty just minutes before heading into a meeting of the Coalition leadership team where its fate was decided.

"This is about our national interest, this is about serving our interests in not being a haven for criminals around the world who would seek to escape justice by being in Australia," Ms Bishop said.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce also furiously denounced Labor's decision to vote with the crossbench and block the Australia-China extradition treaty, calling it "crazy".

"Surely there's a trade minister, or an attorney-general or whatever who understands the ramifications - that if the Labor Party participates in this, they show that they've really evolved not into an alternate party but into some sort of sensational band of rubbish," Mr Joyce said.

Senator Cory Bernardi said he was glad the Coalition had backed away from the agreement.

"[China] has a 99 per cent conviction rate, about 1.3 million people are found guilty, and 1,000 are found not guilty. That doesn't strike me as an open and transparent legal system," Senator Bernardi said.