Need to avoid more boat tragedies: Windsor

Independent MP Tony Windsor says the mood in Parliament House is for politicians to find a solution to avoid more boat tragedies like the one last week.

Mr Windsor was among six MPs across party lines who held talks on Monday to try to break the stalemate on border protection and asylum seekers.

Fellow independent MP Rob Oakeshott, Labor’s Steve Georganas, WA Nationals Tony Crook, and Liberals Mal Washer and Judi Moylan also attended the talks.

“There is a feeling in the building that something needs to happen,” Mr Windsor told AAP on Monday.

“Personally, it is worth a shot.”

About 90 asylum seekers are believed to have drowned when their overcrowded boat capsized between Indonesia and Christmas Island on Thursday.

The tragedy has sparked fresh calls for a deal between the major parties – both of which support offshore processing but differ on locations – in a bid to stem the flow of boats trying to reach Australia.

The Labor government has offered to adopt elements of coalition policy – including reopening a detention centre on Nauru – if the opposition supports a bill that would allow its Malaysian people swap deal to go ahead.

Mr Windsor said parliamentarians had to come to grips with the issue, otherwise more scenes like last week would occur.

“We have just had a tragedy, there will be more and if we return in six months time and it’s still there, we could quite rightly say well you people are doing nothing,” he told Sky News on Monday.

He said it was important to find something where there was consensus on both sides of politics.

The group was fairly confident more people would join it, Mr Windsor said.

Mr Windsor said the group’s next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday.

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