Australian PM seeks to block treatment for sick refugees

Saeed KHAN / AFP

Scott Morrison is campaigning to block a bill that would allow refugees in offshore camps get medical treatment in the country.

"The problem with the bill is it takes control from the government and contracts it out to others who don't have those same interests or responsibilities," Morrison told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Slamming the proposal, that has the backing of the opposition Labour Party, Morrison said it would lead to deaths at sea. "They will unleash a world of woe again."

Under the country’s immigration policy, those who arrive by boat have been sent to camps in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

The Australian Parliament is expected to vote on the bill on Tuesday.

More from International News

  • Zelenskyy to travel to Washington for talks with Trump

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would travel to Washington on Monday for talks with Donald Trump, after the US president's summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin failed to bring an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.

  • Category 4 hurricane Erin continues to intensify

    Hurricane Erin, which is the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season and has developed into a dangerous Category 4 hurricane, has continued to rapidly intensify, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said on Saturday.

  • Eight killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza

    Eight Palestinian citizens were killed and others injured early Saturday morning when the Israeli occupation forces bombed a house in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip and a tent housing displaced persons in Khan Yunis in the south.

  • Trump-Putin summit ends with no ceasefire in Ukraine war

    A highly anticipated summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin yielded no agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine, although both leaders described the talks as productive before heading home.

  • More than 300 killed in heavy rain, floods in Pakistan

    More than 300 people are dead in northwest Pakistan after two days of intense rains and floods, local officials said on Saturday.

On Virgin Radio today

Trending on Virgin Radio