Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was on Wednesday accused by the opposition of “back-pedalling at 100 miles an hour” on his hardline asylum-seeker policies during a sensitive diplomatic visit to Indonesia this week.
His policies, which include turning people-smuggling boats back to Indonesia, pre-emptively buying up rickety fishing vessels and paying villagers for intelligence, were coolly received in Jakarta, and Abbott appeared to waver on the key points after talks with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Striking a more conciliatory tone, Abbott insisted Australia had never said it would tow boats back to Indonesia but “turn boats around when it is safe to do so” and his vessel buy-up “was simply the establishment of some money that could be used by Indonesian officials working co-operatively with their Australian counterparts”.
“The important thing is not to start a fight, but to get things done,” said Abbott.
He was criticised by centre-left Labor, with interim leader Chris Bowen saying it showed “ill thought-out sound grabs from opposition are proving unsustainable in government”.