Shadow immigration minister says ALP will support Coalition’s bill if government guarantees relocation of all children and families

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Labor has outlined its conditions for supporting the Morrison government’s legislation imposing a ban on resettled asylum seekers ever coming to Australia, in an effort to break the current political deadlock and to get children and their families removed from Nauru.

With pressure intensifying from the crossbench for the Coalition and Labor to strike a deal to end what the Australian Medical Association has described as an “humanitarian emergency requiring urgent intervention” – the shadow immigration minister, Shayne Neumann, on Monday night wrote to his government counterpart, David Coleman, nominating three areas required to bring the ALP to the table.

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Scott Morrison has put resettlement in New Zealand on the table provided the parliament supports government legislation shutting the so-called “back door” entry to Australia for people transferred from Nauru.

Neumann says Labor is prepared to countenance the bill but the government must first guarantee acceptance of New Zealand’s longstanding offer to resettle asylum seekers “and the removal of all children and their families from Nauru to New Zealand”.

“We trust you have been engaging already with the New Zealand government on arrangements to move vulnerable asylum seekers as soon as it becomes possible to do so,” the shadow minister says in the correspondence.

Neumann says the next condition is ensuring that any lifetime ban “is only applicable to the cohort transferred to New Zealand”.

“Your government has argued consistently and continues to argue that the issue of concern is specific to New Zealand due to the unique trans-Tasman travel arrangements we have in place.”

He says if the government is concerned to ensure that asylum seekers resettled in Nauru don’t then relocate to Australia, “then limiting the legislation to New Zealand will achieve this outcome”.

Neumann says the effect of the government’s legislation needs to be limited to the special category visa (subclass 444), which enables open travel of New Zealand citizens into Australia.

“Doing so would effectively establish a framework that mirrors the agreement reached with the United States which is already in place and has seen over 400 refugees transferred to the United States without any concerns raised over the potential for back door entry into Australia.”

Neumann says Labor has made it clear it will support the government’s legislation through the Senate as soon as possible “if you seek to consult and negotiate with New Zealand appropriate conditions”.

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“We urge you to take this offer as a priority and fully utilise any offer made by New Zealand.”

Pressure is mounting on the government to deliver a breakthrough that would see children and families removed from offshore detention, with the independents Cathy McGowan and Rebekha Sharkie making a public call for action on Monday as the Coalition braces for the prospect of another hung parliament.

The putative member for Wentworth, Kerryn Phelps, told Guardian Australia on Monday that evacuating children from Nauru was something she would raise with Morrison as part of a discussion about future guarantees on supply and confidence, assuming she arrived in Canberra at the conclusion of the current count.

“I think the Liberal party and Scott Morrison will be judged by how quickly they take action on this,” Phelps said. She said children needed to be evacuated “as a matter of urgency”.

The Greens have also signalled they are prepared to negotiate over the government’s proposed travel ban on refugees and asylum seekers coming to Australia from New Zealand if it helped achieve an urgent resettlement deal to take people off Nauru.

Q&A: Kerryn Phelps says 'writing is on the wall' for Australia's detention policies Read more

Richard Di Natale said the Greens “will consider the New Zealand option” provided vulnerable children and their families come to Australia for medical assessment now and a travel ban is not imposed on others who are not resettled in New Zealand.

With a public campaign by refugee advocates escalating, and with medical groups sounding the alarm over the wellbeing of children – with a cohort of minors now dangerously ill – the government has been quietly removing children and their families from Nauru over the past couple of weeks.

Both Morrison and Bill Shorten face internal pressure from concerned MPs, as well as demands from crossbenchers who will play a kingmaking role once the Liberals lose their majority in the lower house.

On Monday, the Greens MP Adam Bandt and the crossbenchers Andrew Wilkie and Sharkie introduced a bill that would require every child and their family to be brought from Nauru to Australia for medical assessment.

With Senate estimates sessions in parliament this week, no legislation can pass both houses until the upper house returns on 12 November.