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Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser has repeated his call for the Government not to send asylum seekers to another country.
Mr Fraser made the comments at a speech to the Australian Refugee Association in Adelaide last night.
He says there needs to be an end to mandatory detention, and that the Government's proposed deal with Malaysia treats people as if they were commodities.
"The Government appears to have forgotten the common humanity which we all should share," he said.
"Its rhetoric and its policies now argue that the Government is just as tough as the Opposition.
"Does Labor realise it can never outdo the Coalition on inhumanity to asylum seekers?"
Mr Fraser says politicians are showing contempt for the Australian people.
"We need to recapture our humanity, our bipartisanship," he said.
"We won't achieve that until the political parties embrace a practical, humane and compassionate approach to this particular problem."
Mr Fraser says both parties are playing politics with the lives of vulnerable people.
He says the Government's proposed deal with Malaysia - to send 800 asylum seekers in return for 4,000 of Malaysia's refugees - is neither an appropriate or just solution.
He says Australia is trying to avoid its obligations by shifting asylum seekers to another country.
Mr Fraser says Australia should work with the UN to help countries resolve their internal difficulties.
The former prime minister made the comments in a speech titled 'From White Australia to Today'.
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/25/3253374.htm
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