The newly minted member for Wentworth made no secret of her anger at the fact many people with serious physical and mental health conditions had been denied proper treatment for months and even years.

Her proposal, to introduce a regime where the final decision was in the hands of doctors, not bureaucrats and politicians, was meant to put humanity back into a system that had failed to deliver for the refugees and bought shame on the nation.

By reducing the debate to first principles; the obligation we have to do the right thing by people deprived of liberty in our name, Phelps struck a chord with individuals across the political spectrum.

Australians are, as a general rule, a humane and civilised nation. Phelps reminded us of this when she focussed on the asylum seekers as suffering individuals who needed help.

This was why, just before the parliament adjourned in 2018, the Morrison Government was staring down the possibility of a major defeat on the floor of the lower house.

While that moment came and went it was generally expected the asylum bill would pass in the form envisaged by Phelps when parliament resumed.

What nobody expected was that Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, would get cold feet.

We have, over the last 48-hours, gone from almost achieving a humanitarian triumph to again treating detainees as pawns in the ongoing battle between the ALP and the Coalition over who should enjoy the spoils of office.

Shorten, sensing Labor's unequivocal support for Phelps's bill in the Senate last year would give the Government an opportunity to make the 2019 year poll about national security, pulled back on Monday.

Following a security briefing by Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force officials who could be presumed to have an interest in the status quo, Shorten rammed a compromise position through the ALP Caucus on Monday night.

That was presented to the Greens and the cross benchers as a "take it or leave it" fait accomplice.

Had they chosen to leave it asylum seekers would have been stuck in the same limbo they have occupied for years. Having decided instead to support it, with amendments, handing the Morrison government a humiliating defeat, the bill will now have to return to the Senate.

While those suffering medical issues in offshore detention are one step closer to receiving the treatment that doctors say is urgently need in many cases, there is little to celebrate today.

Once again politics has overtaken compassion, something Australia used to be well-known for. Instead the parliament descended into desperate attempts to block, stymie and score points.

It takes courage to make history. That was in short supply on both sides of the chamber in Canberra this week.