The Turnbull government plans to introduce legislation to ban asylum seekers who arrive by boat from ever being allowed into Australia.
The ban will apply to any adult who has been sent to detention centres on Nauru or Manus Island since 19 July 2013.
It means adults who have previously tried to enter Australia by boat since July 2013, but who have chosen to return home, will never be allowed to get a visa to Australia – even as a tourist, or a spouse.
The ban will not apply to children.
The Federal Government’s proposed lifetime ban on asylum seekers and refugees is “extreme”, “evil” and “sick”, according to Labor MPs, as the party strengthens its opposition to the proposal.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said parts of the proposal were absurd.
He said while Labor does not support resettling asylum seekers arriving by boat in Australia, the proposed changes to the Migration Act were “ridiculous”.
“The idea that someone who may be a US or Canadian citizen, because they were once a refugee, wouldn’t be allowed to visit Australia … that idea seems ludicrous,” he told reporters in Melbourne.
