MEDIVAC BILL

On Wednesday, the Senate passed legislation that will allow for the medical evacuation of asylum-seekers, when transfer is recommended by a health professional, to Australia for treatment (Medivac bill).

In a historic vote in the House of Representatives that saw the Morrison Government lose a vote on its own legislation for the first time in 90 years, the Opposition secured the support of most of the crossbench to shepherd though the bill, which was spearheaded by new independent Dr Kerryn Phelps MP.

The bill ran into some trouble earlier in the week due to late advice from the Solicitor General, Dr Stephen Donaghue QC, that the bill was unconstitutional due to amendments that included spending measures. The Opposition subsequently amended the bill further to ensure that members of a newly created medical panel overseeing medical transfers would not receive any renumeration for their service, bypassing the constitutional issue.

The legislation will now go to the Governor-General for royal assent, but the timeframe for this remains unclear.

In response to the bill, Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, said that ‘strong borders do not need to come at the price of the humane treatment of people who’ve been in our care for half a decade or more’.

Minister for Defence and Leader of the Government in the House, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, criticised the legislation, stating that it will compromise Australia’s borders?—?‘if [Labor] become the Government, they will weaken our border protection laws. They’ve already done it [with this bill]. Whereas under the Liberal Party, we stopped the boats, under Labor, they want to bring them back again’.

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) welcomed the passage of the Medivac bill as a step forward in addressing what it considers to be an asylum seeker healthcare crisis. Associate Professor Mark Lane, President of the RACP, said that ‘lack of access to health care has contributed to significant harm to refugees and asylum seekers in offshore processing, including preventable deaths, since 2010. Appropriate health assessment and treatment is critical to addressing the medical crisis in offshore detention’.

Following the passing of the bill, the Government moved to re-open the Christmas Island processing facility and commentators have claimed that there are reports emerging that there has already been increased chatter amongst the people smugglers overseas.