Gillard and Abbott clash over Migration Act

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 20/09/2011

Reporter: Tom Iggulden

Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott seem intent on dividing blame for future asylum seeker arrivals as they disagree with each other over what changes to make to the Migration Act.

Transcript

ALI MOORE, PRESENTER: They both want it, but neither’s prepared to give an inch to get it. Offshore processing’s a common policy for both the Government and the Opposition, but rather than share credit for reducing asylum claims, Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard seem intent on dividing the blame for future arrivals.

Tomorrow the Government will move its amendments to the Migration Act that would allow it to proceed with the Malaysia solution, despite the bill having virtually no chance of becoming law.

Political correspondent Tom Iggulden has more from Canberra.

TOM IGGULDEN, REPORTER: Political stunts have their place, but they’re not for everyone.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, TRANSPORT MINISTER: I’m not doing the dunny thing. Just not doing the dunny thing. You have to draw the line somewhere

TOM IGGULDEN: Tony Abbott’s still trying to flush out the Government on the asylum seeker issue.

TONY ABBOTT, OPPOSITION LEADER: Why won’t the Prime Minister swallow her pride, pick up the phone to the president of Nauru and restart offshore processing right now?

JULIA GILLARD, PRIME MINISTER: There’s a very clear reason for that: the Government has been advised it won’t work and it will cost a billion dollars.

TOM IGGULDEN: The Prime Minister says only her Malaysia solution sends a tough enough message to people smugglers.

TONY ABBOTT: How can the Prime Minister say Nauru won’t work when it did? How can she say Malaysia will work when it hasn’t?

JULIA GILLARD: He is terrified that the Malaysia arrangement will work. He is terrified it will work. And what he wants to see for this country is more boats because he believes that will serve his political interest.

TOM IGGULDEN: Whether it’s Malaysia or whether it’s Nauru, both sides agree offshore processing is the way to go when it comes to asylum seekers.

CHRIS BOWEN, IMMIGRATION MINISTER: We agree that people smugglers should not be able to run the migration program into Australia, Mr Speaker.

TOM IGGULDEN: But each is accusing the other of sabotaging that aim.

The Prime Minister says the Opposition’s support for the Refugee Convention is phony.

JULIA GILLARD: In government their actions were not associated with Refugee Convention countries. Now there’s a word for that, and it’s called hypocrisy.

TOM IGGULDEN: And it’s true the Opposition seems to have changed its attitude to the convention since Nauru signed it earlier this year.

SCOTT MORRISON, OPPOSITION IMMIGRATION SPOKESMAN (June 21): It was never our issue with the reopening of Nauru as to whether they were the signatory to the Refugee Convention because I had total confidence in how the Nauruans would run things.

TOM IGGULDEN: That was then, this is now.

SCOTT MORRISON: It’s not a perfect document, but it is a clear test and Article 33 of the convention is the key condition.

TOM IGGULDEN: The Opposition says Labor’s changed its tune too in the opposite direction, making an exception for Malaysia, which is not a signatory to the convention, for the sake of political expediency.

CHRIS BOWEN (July 2010): We need a regional approach, but that the regional processing centre would need to be, for the sake of decency, at a country which is a signatory to the Refugee Convention.

TONY ABBOTT: How do you justify now doing that which you said for the sake of decency you would not do?

TOM IGGULDEN: The political point scoring isn’t doing either side much good in coming up with a legally viable offshore processing policy, but at least there was one piece of minor good news for the Government today: London-based Euromoney magazine selected Wayne Swan as its finance minister of the year.

The only other Australian treasurer to win was Paul Keating back in 1984, soon thereafter going by the title “The World’s Greatest Treasurer”.

Tom Iggulden, Lateline.

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