Deal No deal, says ANU law expert

The Federal Government's planned asylum seeker swap deal with Malaysia has been blocked by a High Court ruling. ANU international law expert Professor Donald Rothwell told the media scrum outside the Court that the Government was expected to revert back to the system of onshore processing of asylum-seekers that existed before the so-called 'Malaysia Solution'. 'The Court has upheld all of the applications made by the plaintiffs so, on the first ground the court has found that the Minister's declaration under the Migration Act is invalid, I hasten to add, for the time being,” Professor Rothwell said. 'Secondly, the Court has found that the removal of unaccompanied minors from Australia to Malaysia would also be invalid under the provisions of the Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act. 'As a result, the temporary injunctions that were issued by the Court two weeks ago when these proceedings commenced have been upheld and they are now permanent injunctions.' Professor Rothwell said the Government had the power to seek to amend both the Migration Act and the Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act, but they would require the support of the cross-benchers or the Coalition. Professor Rothwell added that the decision raised questions about any offshore processing of asylum seekers including on Manus Island or Nauru. He said the decision indicated that Malaysia could not guarantee basic human rights for asylum seekers.