Belly,

I agree with most of What Paul Kelly says, with the exception that I don't think that this is Abbott's final position. He is going to make Juliar grovel. She wants a blank cheque to rewrite the law and proceed with the Malaysian solution with maybe Manus Island. The only reason she is avoiding Nauru is because she spent years deriding it.

As for the Nauru costing hundreds of $millions, this is no more than the temporary Malaysian solution that is pegged at $300m.

This will also provide a useful distraction to the carbon tax.

Tony Abbott is a failure.
He is what he appears to be a scrapper.
A school yard Bully he has it over Gillard.
Labor knows it.
Conservatives know it.
All wait for him to fall.
For those inside and outside the house supporting him to with draw.
He any day, may trip on his own bottom lip or tongue.
Most know it could be any day, most are convinced it will happen.
His task is not to win Bully boy fights, not to taunt Gillard.The task set for him is to impress us with his ability to deliver good policy's.
You say he is playing a mind game, then it is too with Australia.
He in power, wants offshore processing, Labor wants it Australia wants it.
IF he fails to support this bill FULLY He in fact sides only with?
The Greens!
Happy with that bloke?

Juliar is an abject failure, and we don't have to wait.

She has yet to deliver a workable policy, or anything that she promised.

It looks as though labor has been waiting for Abbott to fail for some time, and as of yet he hasn't. In the mean whilst, the much derided Abbott is now far more popular than the back stabbing ex deputy PM.

Abbott wants off shore processing, but not Malaysia, and Nauru can be used with the most minimal changes to the laws. It is not necessarily in Australia's interest to eliminate all checks and balances. Writing Labor a blank cheque is not in either the coalition's or Australia's best interest.

What is needed is a bipartisan acceptance that people risk their lives on boats because government policy rewards such behaviour. Who would risk his life in a boat if there were no advantage? The current policy does no more than kill desperate people.

Sorry SM, but true, you heave rocks slurs and slander but not debate.
You ARE PYNE or one of the BISHOPS are you?
Just once debate.
This issue as fester says is one for consensus.
You switch the subject under pressure but here are some facts.
BOTH sides want the boats stopped.
5QC,s say this can not be done without changing the law.
Advice is Nehru will not work now, things change.
If Abbott says no.
To keep the issue as a weapon in his bag, he may well be blamed, he walks on ice.
And if the change is legislated now or under an Abbott government.
It will, need both sides to pass it.
IF Abbott fails to pass it now, would you expect Labor to help in the future?
IS IT GOOD politics to hold governments to ransom, helping courts over rule the governments intentions?
And the intentions of your own team?
To use this issue, to flog on behalf of only the greens
Is this why you changed the subject? are you ashamed of the snake oil salesman's stupidity?
After his bleating he alone sponsors future boat arrivals? madness!

Belly,
I disagree with you, it is not a question of consensus.

It is simply a matter of government deciding NOT to give the illegals what they seek and it doesn't really matter where they are processed. Although the further away from the interferring busybody advocates the better.

The government does not require special legislation to deny permanent residence and no family reunion, legal aid or to make them wait 10 years, as in Africa, before processing.

This present government, under Rudd, stuffed it all up so let them fix it, but they are trying everything other than the proven means to stop the boats. Their ego prevents them from acting.

I see from this mornings press that the government admitts that 4% die enroute, which means they acknowledge that 440 have died since they changed the situation.

At long last, belatedly, the government now seems to acknowledge that they failed, which is what happens when ideology is put before practicality and the stupid Greens, and some like Cameron, are still wanting to make it even easier, so more illegals drown.