What a betrayal. What a humiliating disgrace, that Parliament could not come together in common humanity to save the lives of asylum seekers on the high seas. As ever, politicking triumphed over principle, expedience trampled decency into the dirt.

Let us take it one by one. The government: Julia Gillard promised on gaining the prime ministership that stemming the refugee tide would be a top priority. She has failed. Government policy is in tatters. The so-called Malaysian solution was thrown out by the High Court months ago and there is nothing in its place. But after the Labor left held its nose and swallowed hard, Gillard offered a compromise: the Malaysian solution revisited, plus Nauru as a processing centre as well, and possibly even the reintroduction of something like the Howard government's temporary protection visas.

Like all compromise, it is flawed. But in the absence of a true and long-term regional solution to the crisis, it is the best short-term fix available.

The Coalition: hypocrisy abounds. Obdurate, it demands a return to the policies of the Howard years, even though the Immigration Department believes these will no longer work. Tony Abbott says refugees must not be sent to a country that has not signed the UN Conventions on Refugees - somehow this did not trouble him when Howard was using Nauru, which was not then a signatory. Abbott's boast that he would turn back the boats is reckless populism. The navy has outlined the hazards involved, and Indonesia will not accept any sent back. In the cold granite heart of the Coalition it thrills each time another cargo of refugees turns up to embarrass the government.

Plumbing new depths of bad taste, that odious twerp from South Australia, Senator Cory Bernardi, has a video on his website offering to send Gillard a celebration cake with 196 candles, one for each boat arrival on her watch.

The Greens: they just want to be pure, virtuous eunuchs. If the modified Malaysian solution were to save even one boatload of people from drowning, it would have served a purpose. Yet they will not have it. They demand an open door with onshore processing in Australia but refuse to recognise that the boats would still be making dangerous journeys to get here: airlines are not permitted to carry to Australia people without valid visas. The Green's pious refusal to compromise comes at a terrible price.

So there it is. We should acknowledge those MPs of conscience, both partisan and independent, who genuinely sought a solution and apparently continue to do so. For the rest, the failure is absolute and contemptible. I cannot recall such a gross abandonment of Parliament's responsibility.

Mike Carlton