The controversial legislation to allow asylum seekers to travel to Australia for medical treatment has passed in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has responded by saying that the new legislation would āweaken our bordersā (a sentiment recently echoed by Defence Minister Christopher Pyne) and has announced the reopening of the Christmas Island detention centre in order to have any asylum seekers or refugees deemed eligible for medivac to be treated there instead of mainland Australia.
However, the CEO of the Christmas Island Shire, David Price, has labelled the Governmentās announcement a āpolitical knee-jerk reactionā, citing that the small regional hospital on the island was not adequate as it did not perform operations and had no specialists to address mental health concerns.
Mr Price said that the Government did not consult with his administration prior to making the call to re-open the detention centre and said that there has been no explanation of how they will be able to treat the influx of refugees and asylum seekers āin a humane wayā.
He added āJust opening the detention centre doesnāt do that.ā
Mr Morrisonās government is adamant that the passing of the new legislation would reignite the people smuggling trade, leading to a new influx of boats arriving in Australian waters. He said that his responsibility was to ādo everything in my powerā to make sure that the new laws did not āresult in boats coming to Australia,ā
Labor has responded to Coalitionās criticism of their decision to support the bill and in particular Mr Morrisonās rhetoric on the issue. Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said in a tweet that the Prime Ministerās behaviour was ābeyond beliefā and that he was āhappy to endorse liesā as well as having spitefully āencouraged people smugglers to restart their evil tradeā.
The controversy over the bill has set the stage for immigration policy to be a key battle in the upcoming federal election.