Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says Labor will consider the government's new crackdown to stop refugees held in offshore detention facilities from ever coming to Australia, but has branded some aspects "ridiculous" and accused Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of caving to right-wing extremists in the Coalition.
Mr Turnbull and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton unveiled the new lifetime ban on entry to Australia on the weekend.
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Asylum seekers to be banned for life from entering Australia
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull outlines plans to ban asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island who came by boat from ever entering Australia. Vision courtesy of ABC News 24
The policy has attracted widespread criticism amid claims it breaches Australia's international treaty obligations.Â
"It seems ridiculous to me that a genuine refugee who settles in the US or Canada and becomes a US or Canadian citizen is banned from visiting Australia as a tourist, businessman or businesswoman 40 years down track," Mr Shorten told Fairfax Media in his first public comments since the announcement.
"Whether he likes it or not, refugees like Frank Lowy, Gustav Nossal and Hieu Van Le have made a huge contribution to Australia. Â As an Australian, that's something I'm very proud of.
"Of course people who come by people smuggler should not be allowed to settle here - we will never allow the people smugglers back in business."
But in a sign the policy has re-fired the incendiary debate over asylum seekers, Mr Shorten described Mr Turnbull as a captive of the Liberal Party's right-wing reactionaries.
"Two weeks ago Mr Turnbull was happy to trade a vote in the Senate for weaker gun laws, last week his government lied about dodgy data to smear single mums, and now he's shown he's happy to suck up to chase the votes of One Nation Senators to fight off Tony Abbott and keep his job," he said.
"He's earning the praise of Pauline Hanson - I hope he's proud of that.
"The old Malcolm Turnbull would never have proposed this to keep the extremists in his party happy. Â Â
"We'll look closely at the legislation when the government can be bothered releasing it."Â
Speculation is rife that Canberra may be about to announce a final destination country for some of the hundreds of refugees on Nauru and Manus Island, after secret talks with one or more foreign governments.
He's earning the praise of Pauline Hanson - I hope he's proud of that
The Australian government has sought to quell such talk but refuses to be drawn on a suggestion that New Zealand may be on the table after long being ruled out because as a first world country, it would seen to be a prize - and potentially an easy way into Australia.
The government argues that, if refugees were to be resettled there, the newly announced ban on any form of entry would be the only way the government could ensure refugees did not enter as tourists only to remain indefinitely. And that possibility would amount to a form of incentive for people to board boats, the government says.
"We don't comment on discussions with third countries, we are constantly looking for resettlement opportunities for the people that the Labor Party left at Nauru and Manus," Mr Turnbull said on Monday. "Remember this is Kevin Rudd's work that we are endeavouring to resolve and as Peter Dutton and I observed yesterday, our first focus, our highest priority focus are the families, the women and children and family units on Nauru."
The government says the ban has been designed to send the strongest possible message to the criminal people smuggling operations capitalising on vulnerable asylum seekers and "economic" unlawful entrants looking for a better life.
A source close to Mr Shorten said: "Bill's instinct is this is all just cynical politics. They try this trick every few months and it never works - he's deeply sceptical of Turnbull's motivations.
"It's clear as day he's so petrified of opinion polls he's clutching at anything.
Nonetheless, the issue looks set to strain unity within Labor, which is another reason it might have been attractive to the government.
One Labor frontbencher said the government needed to make the case for the change but on the face of it the proposal was "abhorrent" and unrelated to the policy of refusing resettlement to those who came by boat.
"It's up to the government to explain why it is that this law is needed given that they keep saying the boats have stopped," the source said.
"Dutton was unable to explain this morning why it's needed to give effect to the policy Labor announced in July 2013 [of never allowing refugees who come by boat to settle in Australia].
"How does refusing someone a tourist visa in 20 years' time support that policy? It doesn't. This is a law which deals with other matters.
"It might be that there's uniform opposition in Labor to it. [Personally] I find this abhorrent."
Another Labor frontbencher, Terri Butler from the party's Left faction, told Fairfax Media said she was not persuaded by Mr Dutton's argument for the ban.
"I'd be inclined to see the legislation and hear from Peter Dutton about its merits and ostensible motivation. But he has been pretty unpersuasive so far," she said.
"Our policy - for ninety day processing while in safe accommodation, then regional resettlement for people who've fled persecution to start a new life - has not been honoured by this government.
"Under Labor, people's time on Nauru and Manus Island was to be both safe and brief. Under the Turnbull government it has been dangerous and indefinite."
- with Michael Koziol
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