Greens will try to force Senate vote on plans to settle refugees in Cambodia
The Greens will attempt to force a vote in the Senate on plans to resettle in Cambodia refugees whose claims for protection are recognised on Nauru and is challenging Labor to block any deal. The party’s immigration spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, is confident any deal with the Cambodian government will have to be approved by Parliament and has branded Cambodia ”a fundamentally unacceptable place for Australia to dump its refugees”. … While Manus Island in PNG and Nauru were designated regional processing countries, Mr Pye’s advice suggests other destinations for those sent to either country will need to be similarly designated. In a letter to Senator Hanson-Young, he says it is not apparent to him that there is ”any other method” by which a country may be designated as a destination for unauthorised maritime arrivals. Cambodia’s Secretary of State in its foreign ministry, Ouch Borith, told ABC radio on Monday that a working group had finished studying a proposal by Australia and would submit a counter-proposal ”maybe a few days, maybe next week”. While the designation of Manus Island as a country for regional processing is being challenged in the High Court, Senator Hanson-Young said the Greens would try to block the ”secret, dirty deal with Cambodia” in the Senate. …
