The Federal Opposition has attacked the Government’s decision to suspend asylum seeker claims from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, saying it is politically motivated and will not stop the boats coming to Australia.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the suspension – of three months for Sri Lankans and six months for Afghanis – is due to “changing circumstances” in both countries.

But Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says it shows the Government knows its policy is failing.

“This is an admission by the Government that it was always pull factors – not push factors – that was causing the flow of boats,” he said.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says the Government has known for a month that the situations in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka were changing.

“It simply prompts you to ask the question: why today?” he said.

“All they have done is try to put this issue into suspended animation. What they haven’t done is put forward a plan to stop the boats.”

Mr Morrison says the Government is putting off action on dealing with asylum seekers until after the upcoming federal election.

“They are going to clog up the system even more as boat after boat after boat arrives,” he said.

“Clearly they will just spill onto the mainland as they already have now.”

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the suspension will be as dangerous for asylum seekers as the previous government’s system of temporary protection visas.

“The decision of the Government to change their policies are less about the conditions in these countries and more about the political conditions here in Australia,” she said.

“This is about politics. This is not about humanity.”

Immigration Minister Chris Evans says Sri Lankans and Afghanis already on Christmas Island will still have their applications processed, as will those currently bring taken there by the Navy.

But he says from now on, anyone from those countries who is intercepted will be taken to the island and will have to wait until the suspension is lifted.

‘Morally abhorrent’

Human Rights Commission president Catherine Branson says the Government’s changes mean asylum seekers will be detained indefinitely.

She says the commission is considering another visit to Christmas Island to monitor the conditions there.

“We did late last year publish a quite comprehensive report about Christmas Island, but I am very conscious of the fact that conditions there have changed since that time and not for the better,” Ms Branson said.

“We are considering the possibility of again travelling to Christmas Island to update our report.”

Bassina Farbenblum, the director of the University of NSW Migrant and Refugee Rights Project, says the Government’s move breaches the UN’s Refugee Convention.

She says it is immoral to detain Afghanis and Sri Lankans for long periods to deter other asylum seekers.

“It is profoundly discriminatory. Australia will be violating it’s international obligations to detain people for the minimum necessary period, and honestly it’s morally abhorrent,” Ms Farbenblum said.

The Refugee Council says while it is not supporting the suspension, it is a legitimate response to the problem of asylum seekers provided people are not sent back to face persecution.

“This is an attempt to crack a circuit breaker and I can understand why they’re doing that, as long as they continue to adhere to the humane policies which they have supported,” Refugee Council president John Gibson said.

“We will just have to keep a very close eye on what’s going on.”

Mr Gibson says he is concerned the Government’s decision has been made without proper scrutiny of the conditions in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

He says there needs to be lasting improvement before refugees from those countries are treated any differently.

“When there is a change of circumstances it should be sustainable and durable, and as far as Sri Lanka is concerned – and possibly some parts of Afghanistan – one would have to look carefully at whether in fact that is the case,” Mr Gibson said.

And he says the hysteria that has taken hold of Australians over the asylum seeker issue remains.

“I’d like to see the shift and focus towards the positive solutions, looking globally and regionally, rather than this obsession over how many boats arrive,” he said.

He says the number of asylum seekers accepted in Australia still pales in comparison to those accepted in other countries.