offered the speakership, this time by opposition leader Tony Abbott, in a deal that would deliver government to the Liberal-National coalition. Oakeshott declined and Peter Slipper, a coalition MP, became speaker, allowing the Labor Party to continue in minority government. Shortly before the Australian Labor Party leadership spill, 2012, Oakeshott stated that he would not, as a matter of course, continue to support the minority Labor Government if Labor changed leaders. He further stated that he would be prepared to work with whoever could provide stable government and would consider negotiating with the Liberal-National coalition to that end, although his preference would be to deal with former opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull over Tony Abbott. In the event, Prime Minister Julia Gillard survived the leadership spill and Oakeshott continued his support for the minority Labor Government, although he again expressed support for Turnbull over Abbott shortly after the leadership spill was decided. Oakeshott's support for Labor didn't play well with his constituents. Despite his large personal majority, both his federal and state electorates were still comfortably safe National seats in "traditional" two-party matchups. Proving this, Besseling lost Port Macquarie to the Nationals' Leslie Williams at the 2011 state election partly due to voter anger at Oakeshott's support for Gillard. Immigration legislation In February 2012, Oakeshott introduced a private member's bill to allow the Australian Minister of Immigration to authorise sending asylum seekers to any country that is part of the Bali Process. In June 2012, following the sinking of two asylum seeker boats in the Indian Ocean within a week that resulted in significant loss of life, the bill was brought up for immediate debate in the House of Representatives. The bill, along with an amendment by independent MP Andrew Wilkie to make the legislation valid only for 12 months, was passed in the House of Representatives with the support of government members and independents. The bill, seen as a compromise between the Government's desire to allow processing of asylum seekers in Malaysia and the reinstatement of the Pacific Solution sought by the opposition Coalition, was not supported by the opposition or the Australian Greens on the basis that it would allow processing of asylum seekers in countries that were not signatory to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. An amendment to the bill, introduced by the Shadow Minister for Immigration & Citizenship Scott Morrison, to limit