Exclusive : proposals would give more weight to medical opinion and make the minister, not department officials, responsible

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Labor will move to make it easier to transfer asylum seekers from Nauru for medical treatment, with the shadow cabinet resolving to put more weight on the recommendation of treating clinicians, and increasing accountability on the part of the responsible minister.

The shadow cabinet resolved on Monday night to draft a private member’s bill overhauling current processes to make the health of children the primary consideration when determining a temporary medical transfer from offshore detention.

The bill will ensure that the minister rather than department officials makes the final decision on medical transfers, and that decisions are made within 24 hours..

Almost 6,000 doctors sign letter to PM demanding children be taken off Nauru Read more

If the minister refuses a transfer, a second medical opinion must be sought to ensure the decision is predicated on medical advice.

The proposed legislation will introduce greater transparency and accountability over decisions to approve or deny the medical transfer of children and strengthen the existing Independent Health Advice Panel by establishing it in legislation, regularising its work, entrenching greater independence through membership, and mandating transparency in its reporting.

Labor’s revised position follows weeks of negotiation with the Australian Medical Association. The peak doctors lobby group has termed conditions on Nauru “a humanitarian emergency requiring urgent intervention”. Guardian Australia understands the AMA supports Labor’s revised procedures.

The Labor caucus signed off on the new transfer procedures on Tuesday, but there was a substantial debate about what should be done.

At least nine left-wing MPs warned this needed to be the first step to improving conditions on Nauru, not the last word. MPs arguing that Labor needed to go further included Andrew Giles, Ged Kearney, Lisa Chesters, Lisa Singh, Cathy O’Toole, Sue Lines, Mike Freelander, Murray Watt and Maria Vamvakinou.

Over the weekend the United Nations called on Australia to immediately evacuate its offshore detention centres to prevent an unfolding health crisis. With public criticism of Australia’s offshore detention system mounting, there have been breakouts on both sides of politics, with a number of parliamentarians increasingly concerned about conditions in offshore detention following a spate of medical transfers to Australia.

Three government MPs have urged Scott Morrison to remove children and their families from Nauru, declaring conditions in offshore detention have reached a tipping point. Moderates Craig Laundy, Julia Banks and Russell Broadbent have appealed directly for prime ministerial intervention.

Three Liberal MPs push Morrison to take child refugees and families off Nauru Read more

In the Coalition party room on Tuesday, another Liberal, Trent Zimmerman, expressed concern about the condition of children and inquired whether some asylum seekers could be sent to New Zealand.

According to sources at the meeting, Scott Morrison suggested resettlement could be an option, but only if the government was able to guarantee that asylum seekers were not able to make their way to Australia subsequently.

With concerns heightened on the government side, Labor strategists think it is possible some Liberals could support the private member’s bill being proposed by the opposition to improve transfer procedures.

Morrison was asked during parliamentary question time on Monday by the Victorian independent Cathy McGowan what it would take for the government to act with “compassion, mercy and justice to accept the offer of resettlement from New Zealand and have these children and their families off Nauru by Christmas”.

The prime minister defended the level of medical care provided to asylum seekers on Nauru, saying there 65 were health professionals contracted by the Australian government to provide health services, including 33 mental health professionals.

He said the government would not transfer asylum seekers to New Zealand despite an offer from the government because “the advice of the government is people smugglers are marketing New Zealand as a destination, as a destination as a backdoor for Australia”.

Morrison said the government could only change its current stance if legislation was passed preventing “backdoor movement of people into Australia from New Zealand”.

He said Labor and the crossbench had refused to support the necessary legislation. The prime minister said until the backdoor was shut, removing people from Nauru would result in more ventures from people smugglers being launched, and asylum seekers drowning at sea.

“Having stopped the boats, we’re not going to start them again,” Morrison said.



