Old news, lets discuss Tony Abbott's broken election promises instead.,,cuurent news
Stop the boats is a good one to start with.
16/12
Tony Abbott blames Jakarta for rise in asylum boat arrivals
TONY Abbott has ramped up the pressure on Indonesia to resume cooperation to stop asylum boats, blaming a lack of assistance from Jakarta for an "uptick" in boat arrivals over the past fortnight.
The Prime Minister said it would be "the act of a good friend'' for Indonesia to recommence anti-people smuggling operations, which it suspended following revelations of Australian spying on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and his inner circle.
President Yudhoyono has conveyed to The Australian that he wants to restore his country's relationship with Australia by the time he leaves office next July.
As he marked 100 days since being elected on a promise to stop the boats, Mr Abbott said he hoped it would not take six months for Indonesia to resume cooperation on border protection efforts.
"I would certainly expect people-smuggling cooperation to be resumed well before then,'' he told ABC radio.
"And look, we have good relations. We have ... very, very good relations. but there is no doubt they have suspended cooperation on people-smuggling operations, and I think one of the reasons there has been an uptick in boats over the last couple of weeks has been because of this suspension.'"
Mr Abbott said he regarded President Yudhoyono as an "outstanding president and good friend of Australia.
"We are certainly being as good a friend as we humanly can to Indonesia,'' he said.
"And I think it would be the act of a good friend to swiftly resume anti-people smuggling cooperation.''
Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen said Mr Abbott was engaging in "megaphone diplomacy'', which he had promised to avoid in the case of Indonesia.
"We have the Prime Minister talking to Indonesia through the media. Now with all due respect to the media, that is not how you deal with a neighbour,'' he told the ABC.
Five unauthorised asylum boats have arrived in the past fortnight, compared to two in the previous fortnight.
But Mr Abbott said there was no doubt the Coalition would deliver on its election promise.
"Look, we will stop the boats, as simple as that,'' he said.
"And my message for the people-smugglers is `The game is up for you'.
"It doesn't matter what is happening on the ground in Indonesia on any one day, the game is up. The boats are stopping, and they will stop.
"We will do what is necessary to secure Australia's national interest. And it is absolutely in our national interest to secure our borders are 100 per cent secure.''
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister played down his government's move to disband the Immigration Health Advisory Group, which provides advice to the government on the physical and mental health of immigration detainees.
Members of the group were told on Friday that its chairman, Dr Paul Alexander, would take full responsibility for providing independent health advice to the Department of Immigration.
"It's just that we've moved from an unwieldy committee to a single officer,'' Mr Abbott said.
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