Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard moved today to revive a controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Malaysia, after the country’s high court ruled against the policy last month and sent her minority government’s support to new lows.

Gillard, in the top job for just over a year, last week had to fend off leadership speculation after Australia’s High Court ruled against her plan to send asylum-seekers to Malaysia.

She said today the government would revive the Malaysian deal, and would change its migration laws to circumvent the objections of the High Court.

“Malaysia offered the best answer to the issue of asylum seekers and people smuggling then. It offers the best answer now,” Gillard told reporters at Australia’s parliament.

 

Under the Malaysia deal, Australia planned to send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia in return for accepting 4,000 refugees from Malaysia.

Australia, a nation of about 23 million people, receives up to a few thousand asylum-seekers by boat each year, but the arrivals stir intense political debate over border security.

The move by Gillard to revive the policy came as a new poll showed Gillard’s approval rating fell six points to 32 percent, the lowest level for a prime minister in 17 years.

The ruling Labor Party could win an election if it reinstalled former leader Kevin Rudd as leader, with support for Rudd more than double the support Gillard, the Age/Nielsen poll revealed.

The poll found Gillard’s government would be easily swept from office in an election were held now, although the next election is not due for two more years.

Under Rudd, Labor would beat the conservative opposition 52-48 percent, while under Gillard it would be wiped out 42-58 percent, the polls said.

But Gillard, who toppled Rudd in a party-room coup in June 2010, has had to fend off media speculation of an eventual leadership challenge if she cannot turn around the minority

government’s popularity in coming months.

Designed to deter people smugglers

The Malaysian people-swap deal was designed to deter people smugglers who traffic people on leaky fishing boats on an often dangerous journey from Indonesia, as those arriving by boat

would have no guarantee of eventually settling in Australia.

But Australia’s High Court on Aug 31 ruled the Malaysia deal illegal in a major policy setback for Gillard on a hot-button issue in Australia.

Gillard’s previous plan, for an offshore processing centre in East Timor, was abandoned when Dili refused to take part.

Gillard said the government would also push ahead with plans to reopen an immigration detention centre on the remote Papua New Guinea island of Manus.

But the plan to change the migration laws faces a difficult passage through parliament, and would need support from the conservative opposition, which has criticised the Malaysian deal and instead wants a detention centre on the Pacific Islands state of Nauru.

Gillard said new migration laws would be introduced in the next sitting week of parliament, from next Monday.

- Reuters