FED:Abbott leans to "guided democracy"

AAP General News (Australia)
08-07-2010
FED:Abbott leans to "guided democracy"

By Susanna Dunkerley

BRISBANE, Aug 7 AAP - Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has told Nauru's President Marcus
Stephen that Australia could use a more "guided democracy".

Mr Abbott was overheard making the comment when a pack of media photographers disrupted
their meeting in Brisbane on Saturday afternoon. "Sometimes I think we need a
guided democracy," Mr Abbott joked as they wrapped up discussions, noting that the media
in some other countries were "much less disruptive than they are here".

Mr Abbott used the meeting to discuss the coalition's plan to reopen an asylum-seeker
processing centre in Nauru, which was set up by the Howard government as part of its Pacific
Solution.

After the meeting Mr Abbott told reporters Nauru was "ready, willing and able" to reopen
the centre that was shut down shortly after Labor took power in 2007.

"It was absolutely crystal clear from the discussions that we had ... that Nauru is
ready, willing and able to reopen that processing centre at short notice," he said, noting
the opposition's immigration spokesman Scott Morrison would travel to the Pacific island
nation on Sunday to inspect the facilities.

Labor's concern that Nauru is not a signatory to the United Nation's convention for
refugees is a "furphy", he said.

"The fact that Nauru had not signed the UN convention didn't stop UN involvement in
the running of the processing centre."

The issue of asylum seekers has been a hot election topic, with the coalition also
promising to reintroduce temporary protection visas and "turn the boats around".

While Prime Minister Julia Gillard has opted for a regional processing centre, preferably
in East Timor.

Mr Abbott questioned why the prime minister chose not to take advantage of President
Stephen's visit to Brisbane to discuss her policy idea.

"While Julia Gillard has been meeting with Kevin Rudd to talk about Labor's problems,
I've been meeting with the president of Nauru to address the issues facing our country."

Earlier on Saturday Mr Abbott visited the party's most marginal seat - McEwen - which
bore the brunt of Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires.

After meeting with volunteer firefighters in Kinglake West, one of the communities
hardest hit by the firestorm, Mr Abbott promised $10 million for early bush fire detection
warning systems.

The opposition leader will remain in Brisbane, ahead of the coalition's official campaign
launch on Sunday.

AAP sld/jl

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