Australia reconsiders asylum seeker policy

Australia had an influx of asylum seekers under former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Photo / Greg Bowker

CANBERRA - Australia's prime minister is expected to introduce a new border-protection policy this week as the government struggles to cope with boatloads of illegal asylum seekers who have filled an offshore detention centre and fuelled political debate over immigration.

New Prime Minister Julia Gillard will meet her Cabinet on Monday to address the influx of asylum seekers that occurred under her predecessor, Kevin Rudd. The opposition blames Rudd's loosening of tough regulations in 2008 for the increase.

Australia has long been a destination for asylum seekers, with most coming from Afghanistan, Iran and Sri Lanka. The Christmas Island detention centre, built for 800, has been overflowing for months as more than 2,000 more people have arrived by boat this year.

Gillard on Sunday called for an open debate on the problem of illegal immigration.

"For people to say they're anxious about border security doesn't make them intolerant, it certainly doesn't make them a racist, it means that they're expressing a genuine view that they're anxious about border security," she said. "By the same token, people who express concern about children being in detention, that doesn't mean they're soft on border protection, that just means that they're expressing a real human concern."

In April, Australia temporarily suspended refugee applications from Afghans and Sri Lankans, citing improved conditions in those countries. The Sri Lanka suspension expires Thursday, and the government will also address whether to extend that suspension.

Ruling party member Simon Crean said the government's new approach would focus more on working with neighbouring countries.

"She (Gillard) also understands it's terribly important that we develop a regional response; we talk more effectively to our neighbours about how we address it," he told Nine Network television.

But opposition leader Tony Abbott said Gillard had helped shape her party's policy and a revamp of border protection under the Labor party would not change the status quo.

"I have a simple message to the Australian people: if you want to stop the boats you've got to change the government," Abbott said Sunday.

Abbott has promised to revive the so-called Pacific solution - in which Australia paid impoverished island neighbours Nauru and Papua New Guinea to keep asylum seekers in detention centres - if his party wins elections later this year.

- AP