Member for Indi Cathy McGowan expressed her opinion on a refugee medical transfer bill to Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a Tuesday meeting – but confirmed she won’t be revealing it publicly.
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Last year, the Coalition filibustered in the Senate to prevent a vote on the bill, which would fast-track medical treatment for refugees on Manus Island and Nauru.
The government argue the bill would undermine border policy.
Despite not being listed on the meeting agenda, Ms McGowan confirmed she discussed the issue with the Prime Minister.
“We talked about it, he asked my opinion and I gave it to him and we talked about it,” she said.
But Ms McGowan was not willing to clarify what her opinion was, instead highlighting that she had argued for “mercy and justice” for refugees in the past.
Speculation about Ms McGowan’s position has been rife as either Ms McGowan, Rebekha Sharkie, Kerryn Phelps, Julia Banks or Andrew Wilkie voting against the bill would put its passage in doubt.
Last year, Ms Sharkie, Dr Phelps, Ms Banks and Mr Wilkie all signed the bill, but Ms McGowan did not.
The pair also discussed a regional city deal for Albury-Wodonga but despite a ‘good conversation’ no commitment or decision was made.
The deal aims to generate jobs, urban renewal and co-ordination between all the tiers of government and private enterprise.
In September, Mr Morrison said regional deals in places like Albury-Wodonga were needed – ahead of the meeting Ms McGowan said she would be holding the Prime Minister to his promise.
Ms McGowan said she emphasised the deal’s importance for the region and Mr Morrison would discuss the matter further with his department and her Farrer counterpart Sussan Ley.
However, Mr Morrison did commit to releasing the government’s response to the Regions at the Ready report by the end of the month.
Ms McGowan said the response to the report highlights the coalition’s lack of policy for regional Australia was overdue.
She said white and green paper consultations on regional policy development should have already taken place.
“Ideally it would have happened last year so by the time we got to the election we’d have a regional policy for the country – but we don’t,” she said. “Instead it means when money is spent it’s spent in an ad hoc, uncoordinated way.
“It’s spent without an overall plan of what you’re trying to do for the nation.”
She said the meeting also discussed the regional impacts of drought and changes to emergency funding.
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