Australia's ruling conservative party suffered a rare defeat on Tuesday, when the opposition joined minor parties and independent lawmakers to pass a bill that would give sick asylum seekers easier access to mainland hospitals.

Under Australia's harsh asylum policy — aimed at deterring asylum-seekers from reaching Australia by boat — Canberra sends asylum seekers who arrive by sea to Nauru and Papua New Guinea for processing and bars them from resettling in Australia.

Read more: Asylum seekers on Manus Island – unable to stay, unable to leave

The bill passed on Tuesday would allow doctors instead of bureaucrats to decide which asylum seekers in the camps can fly to Australia for medical treatment.

The bill must be approved by the upper house to become law, but it is expected to pass, as the Senate supported an earlier version of the bill last year.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's conservative government argued that the bill, which passed 75 to 74 in the House of Representatives, will undermine Australia's tough refugee policy.

Manus Island: Papua New Guinea police begin clear-out operation in former detention center Police presence Papua New Guinea authorities entered the Manus Island detention center on Thursday morning to expel asylum seekers. Police Chief Superintendent Dominic Kakas said 50 police and immigration officials entered the camp.

Manus Island: Papua New Guinea police begin clear-out operation in former detention center Police: not a raid "There's no raid. It's an ongoing negotiation with the refugees," Kakas told AP. "It's not an eviction exercise. We're telling them to move because there's water, food and proper shelter on the other side."

Manus Island: Papua New Guinea police begin clear-out operation in former detention center Asylum seekers: food and water confiscated Residents claim authorities attacked their makeshift supplies again. "They destroyed our food and damaged our accommodation too, they destroyed our water tank," one asylum seeker told Reuters.

Manus Island: Papua New Guinea police begin clear-out operation in former detention center Deadline passed Deadlines to abandon the camp earlier in November passed without authorities taking action. Food, water and power supplies ended when the Manus camp officially closed on October 31. Police then ramped up pressure by emptying water tanks and removing shelters.

Manus Island: Papua New Guinea police begin clear-out operation in former detention center UN: humanitarian crisis Advocacy group Asylum Seeker Resource Center (ASRC) said more than 150 men at in the camp were seriously ill, lacking access to basic first aid or medicine. The United Nations had previously described the standoff as a "looming humanitarian crisis", calling on Australia to take immediate action to avert disaster.

Manus Island: Papua New Guinea police begin clear-out operation in former detention center Violent history The detention center has an ugly history of violence. Iranian asylum seeker Reza Berati was killed — and another 69 asylum seekers injured — during a riot in 2014. Two locals, a guard and a Salvation army employee, were convicted of his murder.

Manus Island: Papua New Guinea police begin clear-out operation in former detention center Protesters: Justice for refugees Australia's hardline immigration policy has provoked criticism both at home and abroad. President Malcolm Turnbull suggested refugees in Manus were using the situation to gain asylum. "They think that ... in some way they can pressure the Australian government to let them come to Australia. Well, we will not be pressured. We will not outsource our migration policy to people smugglers." Author: Ajit Niranjan



Huge defeat for Morrison

Morrison's administration is the first in nearly a century to lose a vote on major legislation, fuelling calls for a snap election.

His coalition has to call an election by May and has been trailing the opposition center-left Labor Party in opinion polls.

A sitting government last lost a vote on substantive legislation in 1929. Then-Prime Minister Stanley Bruce immediately called an election, which he lost.

The government of Prime Minister Arthur Fadden lost a symbolic budget vote in 1941 and immediately resigned.

'Finally voting for humanity'

"Votes will come and they will go, they do not trouble me," Morrison told a news conference in the capital Canberra following the vote.

"Where we will always stand, and the Australian people can always trust us to do, is to have the mettle to ensure the integrity of our border protection framework ... the Labor Party demonstrated tonight they have no such mettle," Morrison said.

Labor representatives said it was about "doing the right thing," and the vote provoked cheers from asylum-seeker activists in parliament's public gallery.

Victorian prize winner applauds

Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish Iranian journalist detained in an Australian-run camp in Papua New Guinea, tweeted that it was "great to see the Australian parliament finally vote for humanity."

Boochani recently won the Victorian prize for literature for his book "No Friend But the Mountains," which he wrote largely via messages to interpreter Moones Mansoubi using services such as WhatsApp.

"Many people are happy now because they will finally receive medical treatment," Boochani tweeted.

law/jm (AFP, AP, Reuters)

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