Refugee issue hot as Australian parliament resumes

CANBERRA (AAP) - May 22 - The federal government will be under sustained attack over its asylum-seeker policies when parliament resumes on Monday.
While Labor's immediate focus will be on passing appropriation bills to put budget measures into effect, the coalition is ramping up its offensive over the government's handling of asylum-seeker issues.
Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison has won the cautious support of the Australian Greens and Independent MP Andrew Wilkie for a motion he is set to introduce in the lower house this week.
The motion, if successful, would establish a parliamentary inquiry to scrutinise Australia's detention network which, Mr Morrison says, is in chaos because of Labor's failed policies.
Greens MP Adam Bandt is expected to stoke up debate on the government's plan in the lower house to send asylum seekers to Malaysia for processing, after a debate on the motion in the Senate in the last parliamentary sitting.
The coalition has flagged its support for the Greens motion, as has Mr Wilkie.
A Climate Commission report, set for release on Monday, is likely to be a key focus for the government, as it tries to sell its carbon tax to voters.
It will be a point of attack for Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who continues to capitalise on voter uncertainty on the issue.
A multi-party forum on climate change on Tuesday is unlikely to be attended by coalition members.
On Wednesday, debate will resume in the lower house on the government's carbon credits scheme to encourage carbon farming in agriculture.
Labor will also forge ahead with changes to existing laws in relation to the national broadband network (NBN) after flicking the switch on mainland Australia last week.
The coalition will be hoping its communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull is focused on destroying the NBN rather than on commentary on its climate change policy after an uncomfortable television appearance last week.
Labor certainly will focus on a media report in a Sunday newspaper suggesting a blow-up between Mr Abbott and his treasury spokesman Joe Hockey ahead of the federal budget.
The report, which attributed its information to unnamed sources, was labelled a beat-up by the coalition but seized on by government frontbencher Anthony Albanese.
Mr Albanese said it showed Mr Hockey thought Mr Abbott stood for nothing.