SM yesterday your leader stood along side a shadow Minister who said Rudd was unfit to govern this country.
He made his claim based on the pink bats tragic events.
Both he and Abbott ignore the truth,the children over board and other tragic events make them culpable.
Much more so than a PM who was in government when shonky builders killed their workers.
In the end surely it is them who failed to train and protect the victims.
Abbott stands for that.
Blaming every one but never looking in a mirror.
If you can find other than the very start of a regional answer to the boats in SBY words I feel sorry for you.

As I mentioned before I am no great fan of towing the boats back, as it:
1) Ties up our naval vessels up, and
2) More importantly, it leaves us exposed -- just imagine if one of the boats we towed back sank,or someone fell overboard. In fact it would NOT even need to happened (no proof would be required) going on past events even "a report" "it was reported that" of such would be enough to send the ABC and SBS and a thousand human-rights lawyers into a frenzy (not to mention the UNHCR and a million NGOs)

But having said that, the issue of "regional co-operation" is a nonsense.Even while Rudd & SBY were mouthing sweet platitudes about "regional co-operation" there was an asylum scammer boat 80KMs of the Javan coast --80KMs off Java -- calling the Oz navy for help.
FFS! WHERE WAS THE REGIONAL CO-OPERATION FROM INDONESIA?

As I said before regional co-operation will amount to the other countries corralling illegals for a while before passing them on to OZ.

SPQR,

How else is Australia going to deliver boats back into Indonesian territory "without" the cooperation of Indonesia?

It's all very well to say they were mouthing platitudes, but the reality is that the Opposition's idea was merely surface blather. They had no agreement.

At least now there's an agreement to talk about the issue with the other big player in the drama.

It's called "diplomacy".

It is called a grudging return to Howard's policy that worked.

Indonesia is aware that Kevin13 has a time imperative set by the election and needs to re-brand to make it all seem to be his idea.
Kevin13 has delivered Indonesian diplomats a heavenly run, while hamstringing his own.

Indonesia has been given on a platter the upper hand in negotiating a better outcome for itself.

'Cooperation' will come with a big price tag. Millions more out of the pockets of Australian taxpayers and a loss of at least some decisionmaking capacity in who can come to Australia.

It would be infinitely better if Kevin13 could leave the negotiations for the government elected in a couple of months time.

Oppositions do not conduct diplomatic discussions with foreign governments.

SM,

This is a regional problem
and we do need the co-operation of Indonesia in helping
to try to solve it. It would be great if the current
political and policy mess could be straightened out
as a result of co-operation between all parties
concerned.

DIAC figures from 30 April 2013 record a total of 8,797
people in immigration detention with a record of 5,178
people in immigration detention centres with thousands
more in alternative places of detention.

More recent figures include 1,852 children are in closed
facilites. It has also kept over 50 refugees indefinitely
detained because of secret ASIO reports, many for more than
3 years. The "no advantage" policy has meant that processing
has deliberately stalled. There are now 20,000 people,
including thousands in community detention who have been
waiting since August last year to have claims assessed.

Poirot

<<How else is Australia going to deliver boats back into Indonesian territory "without" the cooperation of Indonesia?>>

I am still preparing my election ads, you caught me off guard.

Need we deliver them back --cut the incentive to come in the first place.

Here's a few ideas for starters

1) Stop govt funding of groups who's main purpose in life is to spruik for a more asylum scammers and run challenges to refugee legislation.
2) Tighten our selection/vetting processes.
3) Both Labor and Liberal should put the Greens stone motherless last in their preferencing.
4) Toughen sentencing for boat crew AND when they have served there lengthy sentences fly them home on Garunda (not Qantas) --that would scare the pants off them!

<<At least now there's an agreement to talk about the issue with the other big player in the drama>>

I'm not sure what sort of sport they play way over in the boondocks (aka WA) but here in the civilized zone we play rugby league.
And I can tell you that if I was playing a match I would not want a <<player>> in my team who played the way Indonesia does.
Heck! he'd be hogging the ball till the last moment them passing it to you when you're about to be crunched -- in RL they call it a hospital pass. That's what player-Indonesia has been doing to Oz , giving us hospital passes--then shrugging its/their shoulders and "saying what else could I do?"