Former Liberal premier Nick Greiner has urged federal leaders to end the limbo for refugees who have arrived in Australia by boat, saying the nation could afford to fix the lasting problem without weakening tough border controls.

Greiner also called on the Liberals to back the case for a bigger humanitarian intake for new migrants and shift its tone in the asylum seeker debate, pointing to the way Liberal governments had welcomed Vietnamese and Syrian refugees in the past.

Liberal heavyweight Nick Greiner says the limbo must end for refugees on Nauru and Manus Island. Credit: Wolter Peeters

The comments highlight the plight of more than 1000 refugees and asylum seekers who are being refused settlement in Australia because they arrived by boat and were processed on Nauru and Manus Island, a key policy under Labor and Liberal leaders over the past decade.

Greiner, who joined the board of the Refugee Council of Australia 10 days ago, was premier of NSW for four years to 1992, and federal president of the Liberal Party for three years until 2020, later serving as Australia’s consul-general in New York.