Labor slammed over move to extend asylum seeker offshore processing in Nauru

Labor is under attack from all sides of politics over asylum seeker policy as it moved urgently to extend offshore processing in Nauru four months after the arrangement lapsed.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil moved on Tuesday to again make Nauru the country’s designated regional processing centre for another 10 years. Asylum seekers would be sent there while their claims are assessed.

The legal arrangements for the deal lapsed on October 1.

The Coalition attacked the Government for not having a regional processing centre for four months and mishandling national security, though it supported the motion.

Crossbenchers also hit out at the Albanese Government for not yet honouring a key election promise of dismantling immigration detention and abolishing temporary protection visas and transitioning eligible refugees on to permanent visas.

“It’s a serious oversight and the minister needs to take responsibility,” shadow home affairs minister Karen Andrews said.

It comes as author and refugee advocate Behrouz Boochani — who was told by the former Coalition government he would never set foot in Australia after being denied a visa — stood in Parliament House to say nothing had changed for asylum seekers since Labor took office.

Nationals leader David Littleproud called the Nauru deal lapse disgraceful and said Labor had “botched” the model that deterred asylum seekers from travelling to Australia on boats.

“This shows this Government’s been asleep at the wheel in protecting our borders ... this was the deterrent that stopped the boats,” he said.

The Greens opposed the extension of the deal, instead pushing Labor to bring about 150 people from detention in Nauru and Papua New Guinea to Australia.

In December, the Government promised to end the limbo for 19,000 people in Australia by abolishing temporary protection visas.

Independent MP Zoe Daniel said Labor’s implementation of its migration policies had been “bitsy and slow” and the lack of a time frame to end temporary protection visas was “unsatisfactory”.