''I am concerned people smugglers might try to exploit this window,''she said.''The sooner this is legislated the better.''

The Prime Minister said she was confident Nauru could be up and running within a month,albeit with temporary accommodations including tents.

Despite the government's desire for hasty action,the opposition tried to have a matter of public importance debate this afternoon on Labor border protection''failure''over the past four years.

With the support of independents Tony Windsor,Rob Oakeshott,Andrew Wilkie and Craig Thomson,the government was able to crush the Coalition MPI and bring on debate on the bill.

The Coalition's agreement over Nauru and Manus Island did not stop it trying to score political points on the asylum seeker issue.

During question time,Mr Morrison asked Ms Gillard why it had taken her so long to pick up the phone to the President of Nauru to request a resumption of offshore processing.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott asked the Prime Minister if she would accept responsibility for deaths that had occurred under Labor's border protection regime.

The Coalition is also still calling on the government to reintroduce temporary protection visas and to turn back boats.

The Greens will move an amendment during the debate today,to put a one-year limit on people's time in detention offshore.

"There must be a limit to the cruelty that the Australian government can inflict on refugees,so a time limit would be one simple way of minimising the damage that offshore processing has on refugees and vulnerable children,''the party said in a statement.

A final vote is not expected until tomorrow,with both Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott due to meet returning Olympians in Sydney beforehand. There are 46 Coalition MPs listed to speak on the bill and four Labor MPs (Michael Danby,Chris Hayes,Dick Adams and Rob Mitchell).

Mr Wilkie has slammed the federal parliament’s agreement on asylum seekers,labelling it a return to the ‘‘unethical’’ Howard-era Pacific Solution.

The Independent MP says he will vote against the government’s bill.

‘‘This is very disappointing,’’ he told ABC radio.‘‘The Howard-era Pacific Solution,it was deeply unethical and it was arguably illegal.

‘‘It certainly wasn’t in accordance with the spirit,and arguably wasn’t in accordance with the wording,of the (UN) refugee convention.’’

Mr Wilkie said while he did not doubt the intentions of the expert panel headed by former Air Force chief Angus Houston,he insisted they had come up with the wrong model.

Senior Liberal Phillip Ruddock,who served as immigration minister for almost six years under John Howard,told Parliament the expert panel’s report was ‘‘the most devastating critique that I have ever seen about failure of government policy’’.

With Jessica Wright,AAP

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