June 18, 2005
The Age

A Liberal Party backbencher who forced Prime Minister John Howard into changes to the immigration system said today his group of rebel MPs had not achieved what they wanted - the abolition of mandatory detention.

Families and long-term detainees will be released from immigration detention centres after Mr Howard announced the compromise with rebel backbenchers yesterday.

New refugee applications will have to be dealt with within six months and the cases of all temporary protection visa holders seeking permanent residency will be decided by October 31 this year under the changes.

Today Liberal MP Petro Georgiou said he and his other backbench supporters had achieved change across a wide range of areas but not all.

"... There's no disputing the fact that we did not achieve the abandonment of the policy of mandatory detention," Mr Georgiou told ABC radio's AM.

About 8,000 refugees are expected to benefit from the government backdown.

It is a huge win for Mr Georgiou and his supporters, who had threatened to cross the floor to vote for softening the mandatory immigration detention policy.

Mr Georgiou will now withdraw the two private members' bills he was planning to introduce to parliament on Monday.

Draft laws are expected to be introduced next week and the changes will be personally overseen by the government's most senior public servant, Peter Shergold, the head of Mr Howard's own department.

Mr Shergold will report to Mr Georgiou and his supporters - Liberal MPs Judi Moylan, Bruce Baird and Russell Broadbent - every fortnight until all the changes are in place.

Mr Georgiou said that although mandatory detention stayed, indefinite detention would be addressed through the intervention of the commonwealth ombudsman."

It is was also very important that families with children be let out, he said.

About 5,000 people would also be affected by the changes to temporary protection visas.

However, asked if he was happy that Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone would receive more power under the changes, he said: "I personally would have preferred a system of judicial review but that's not the point.

"The point is that there will now be a system of reports by the ombudsman, ... to the parliament and to the minister.

"There will now be a system of mandatory reporting ... by the department on why people aren't processed within three months on the primary visa application and appeals, to the refugee tribunal.

"And ... families with children will be released into the community with reporting conditions.

"I think that's a very significant move forward in terms of compassion, in terms of transparency and in terms of the lives of refugees and asylum seekers."