Georgiou slams Turnbull on refugees

Malcolm Turnbull's vow to revive a temporary-style visa for all unauthorised asylum-seekers drew a sharp rebuke from Senior Liberal, Petro Georgiou.

Mr Turnbull has been criticised from within and outside the Coalition. Some see this policy announcement as an attempt to gain mileage from the stand-off between the Rudd Government and the Sri Lankan asylum seekers on the Oceanic Viking, the Australian Customs ship anchored off Indonesian Island of Bintan.

Speaking to Neos Kosmos English Edition, (NKEE) on Friday, Mr Georgiou said, "I do not support a return to temporary protection visa, I think it is a cruel response to legitimate refugees."
The long-standing critic of the Howard government's response to unauthorised asylum seekers, said he has made his views evident to his leader.

When asked by NKEE what Mr Turnbull's response was he simply said, "My view is clear on this, I can't be any clearer."

Under the Howard Government Temporary Protection Visas - introduced in October 1999 - unauthorised arrivals found to be refugees and accepted into Australia were granted a three-year temporary visa with the option of applying for further protection.
Under the Coalition's policy, all unauthorised arrivals would be processed offshore at Christmas Island and a non-permanent visa would be introduced if the Coalition won government.

Steve Georganas MP, the Member for Hindmarsh, was dismissive of Malcolm Turnbull's policy, highlighted what he saw as a lack of leadership in Malcolm Turnbull. Speaking from Adelaide he said, "Whatever Mr Turnbull says doesn't count because he is leading an extremely divided party, he doesn't know who he is, he panders to the right, then to the others.
When will the real Malcolm Turnbull stand up?"

Mr Georganas pointed to figures suggesting that Temporary Protection Visas (TPV) were ineffective in stemming flow of unauthorised asylum seekers.
He said, "When TPVs were introduced in 1999 there were 8,455 unauthorised arrivals from 94 boats in the two years after the introduction, and on top of that 5,520 arrivals in 2001 alone, many of whom were women and children."

He ended by saying that most of those detained at Christmas Island, as part of the Howard Government's Pacific Solution were ultimately accepted into Australia anyway. Prime Minister Rudd, from India last week, accused Malcolm Turnbull of producing "dot points" instead of a policy. Mr Rudd ridiculed Mr Turnbull's announcement.

"What stuns me is that after two years we don't get a policy, we get four dot points of principle," Mr Rudd was reported by Fairfax Radio from India last week.

"There's nothing new in this at all."
Mr Turnbull and shadow Immigration Minister Sharman Stone declared that the Coalition's strategy on national security would stem "the surge of boat arrivals" with a "tougher and fairer policy".

The temporary visa holders would be reassessed within three years, with those found not to be in need of protection returned to their country of origin.