The Australian government is prepared to reopen the Nauru asylum-seeker processing centre but insists it will still pursue its people-swap deal with Malaysia.  

It said the Nauru option was on the table if the opposition agreed to pass the government’s amendment to the Migration Act without changes.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said the government’s people-swap deal with Malaysia remained but was willing to compromise with the opposition on other offshore processing centres.

The Gillard government had been adamant it would not reopen the Nauru centre that it closed after taking power in 2007.

But Bowen said today the impasse over offshore processing had gone on for too long, and it was clear Opposition Leader Tony Abbott did not want to work out a deal with the government.

Acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan will write to Abbott with a formal proposal to end the deadlock, the Australian Associated Press said.

The plan has been developed in consultation with Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who is on holiday, and the cabinet.

“The opposition needs to support without amendment the government’s legislation to allow the government of the day to implement its policies ... to implement offshore processing,” Bowen told reporters in Newcastle.

“The government will continue to implement its agreement with the Malaysian government if that legislation is passed, which would break the people smugglers’ business model.

“As a complement to the Malaysia agreement, we are happy to engage with the government of Nauru to see if a processing centre can be developed on Nauru.”  

Government’s hopes appear scuttled

Earlier today, Abbott appeared to scuttle the government’s hopes that backing down on Nauru would smooth the way for its plan to send 800 boat arrivals to Malaysia in return for accepting 4,000 authorised refugees.

“Once Nauru is up and running, you don’t need Malaysia,” Abbott told journalists in Sydney.

“It plainly won’t work. Because it didn’t stop the boats after it had been announced, it’s a five-for-one people swap and it doesn't involve any serious protection for people sent there (to Malaysia).”

The Australian government would also continue talks with Papua New Guinea about opening a processing centre there, Bowen said.

The immigration minister said the acting prime minister’s letter to Abbott would make it clear his government was still willing to talk, and Bowen would be available to meet personally with opposition immigration spokesperson Scott Morrison.

“My message to Tony Abbott is simple and clear: the time for excuses is over. It’s time to say that he will work with the government of the day to implement policies we both agree on. The time for yelling at each other about this issue has stopped,” Bowen was reported as saying.

- Bernama