lab and lib play childish games over refugees

Disgraceful, they should all grow up and work something out...
ABC Online
The bitter divisions between the Federal Government and the Opposition on the issue of asylum seekers are deepening with the failure of the latest discussions around reinstating offshore processing.

Both sides have been in negotiations since before Christmas in a bid to broker a deal to allow the resumption of offshore processing.

But barely three weeks into the new year, both sides have confirmed what many commentators suspected - there is unlikely to be an agreement.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said the agreement to cease negotiations was mutual.

"We wanted to see if there was a way that the two political parties that support offshore processing could actually vote for it," he said.

"There had been a series of discussions and a series of exchanges between us, but the bottom line is if the Liberal Party is not prepared to move away from its position of not supporting the legislation then there is no further point in those discussions.

"So whether there are further discussions is a matter for the Liberal Party."

But Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says his party will not support bad policy.

"It would be disingenuous to continue discussions that this Government has effectively terminated by failing to be able to respond to the concerns and problems that we have raised," he said.

Concessions
Mr Morrison has released letters exchanged between he and Mr Bowen over the past month which indicate the concessions the Government was preparing to make.

Mr Bowen offered to conduct a review into temporary protection visas - one of the key planks of Opposition policy - but that was rejected by the Coalition as a delaying tactic.

The letters also reveal that immigration officials visited Nauru at the start of January to inspect the immigration facilities there, reinforcing the Government's offer to re-open that centre in return for the Opposition supporting its asylum swap deal with Malaysia.

But Mr Morrison has confirmed that would never be accepted by the Opposition.

"It is a false premise that the Government cannot restore offshore processing at Nauru," he said.

"They can do that today, they can restore temporary protection visas.

"The suggestion that we have to support bad policy, policy that we've always opposed, in order for the Government to embrace proven and good policy is a false notion, it's another excuse from this Government not to act."

The Government's offers stopped short of changing its proposed legislation to reinstate offshore processing after it was effectively ruled out by the High Court last year.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has also attacked Tony Abbott's plan to send boats back by saying she will not support a policy which puts Navy lives at risk.

Dave R.