Australia’s xenophobic conservative government tightened immigration law yet again yesterday, drawing protests outside and inside parliament.

The government reintroduced controversial temporary visas for refugees which do not grant permanent settlement.

Amendments to the Migration Act narrowly passed the lower house yesterday morning after a stormy late-night debate in the senate.

“Temporary protection visas” (TPVs) grant refugees protection for up to three years but do not give holders the right to settle for good.

The government reintroduced the visas to deal with a backlog of 30,000 asylum-seekers who arrived by boat.

“This is a win for Australia,” claimed right-wing Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

“It will enable the government to deal with the backlog of 30,000 people who came illegally by boat under Labour,” Mr Abbott boasted.

“These people, if they’re found to be refugees, will receive temporary protection visas, which means no-one coming to Australia illegally by boat can expect permanent residency.”

Human rights group Amnesty International warned that the legislation left no avenue for appeal and would see refugees returned to their torturers.

“It violates international law by removing any requirement to consider whether a person will be tortured or persecuted if returned home,” said refugee co-ordinator Graham Thom.

“It seems inevitable these drastic changes will see people in genuine need returned to the hands of their persecutors.”

TPVs had been shown to “inflict serious harm on refugees’ mental health, with higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress,” Amnesty said.