Independent senator David Pocock has spoken out against the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees, arguing that for two decades Australia had denied them basic humanitarian rights.
Pocock, who made the comments in support of a proposed law to bring to Australia about 150 refugees and asylum seekers held offshore, said those remaining on Nauru and in Papua New Guinea were “victims of our collective political failure”.
The Evacuation to Safety bill, introduced by the Greens senator Nick McKim, was defeated in the Senate on Wednesday morning by 24 votes to 12, with the Greens, Pocock and Lidia Thorpe in favour and the Coalition, Labor and One Nation opposed.
The bill proposed moving refugees and asylum seekers held offshore to Australia while they await resettlement in a third country, likely New Zealand or the US. All those moved to Australia would be required to pass an Asio security assessment.
Late on Tuesday, the government-controlled legal and constitutional affairs legislation committee said offshore detention was damaging and “cannot be allowed to continue”, but said the bill should not be supported.
“The committee acknowledges that a number of asylum seekers and refugees have been in offshore detention far longer than can reasonably be expected. The committee recognises that this has resulted in significant personal costs, including physical and mental health costs, that cannot be allowed to continue.”
The committee said it “urges the government to urgently consider all available options to effect the removal of asylum seekers and refugees currently in offshore detention”.
The committee received more than 150 submissions, all but one of which supported the bill.
The Department of Home Affairs said it should not be supported because it might offend the Nauru government if people were brought from Nauru to Australia.
The department also claimed Australia did not have legal responsibility for those on PNG .
There are currently 66 refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru, and 92 people still held in Papua New Guinea – mostly in Port Moresby. They are not in detention but – particularly in the case of those remaining in PNG – live in impoverished and often dangerous circumstances. Many have serious mental and physical health problems that cannot be treated where they are held. They cannot leave the islands freely.
McKim said the government’s rejection of the bill was devastating for those still held in PNG and on Nauru, and argued the government “has a moral responsibility to end this humanitarian crisis”.
“Labor’s decision to oppose the bill is devastating for the people still trapped in PNG and Nauru.
“Labor has put its flawed political calculus above the lives of refugees it sent into exile a decade ago.”
The ALP senator Nita Green told the Senate the government was “being strong on borders without being weak on humanity”.
“It is an important balance and one that we are getting right.”
Jana Favero, the director of advocacy at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, said the government’s decision to reject the bill was “disappointing but not unexpected”.
“Neither major party referenced the refugees impacted by the bill, nor did the Senate inquiry report,” she told Guardian Australia. “It shows it’s a political football, to make the people invisible to suit the political agenda.
“It’s disgraceful bipartisanship to play politics with people’s lives.”
From Nauru and PNG, refugees held offshore directly have appealed to the government to get them off the islands where they have been held for a decade.
Rajah, a Tamil refugee held on Nauru who suffers from an acute kidney condition, told the inquiry he requires “both mental health and physical healthcare”.
“Every day is a struggle and suffering. We are here in offshore detention for 10 years now. We are also human ... take one minute for us and think about our feelings and our families. We are separated from our children, siblings and parents … if we have done anything wrong, tell us.”
