A Coalition government would use navy and customs vessels to tackle the boats, says Liberal MP Scott Morrison. Picture: John Grainger Source: News Limited
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OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott says he's confident Indonesia would accept asylum seeker boats turned back under any future Coalition government.
Under the former Howard Coalition government, seven boats were turned back and the last was the fishing vessel, Minasa Bone, on November 4, 2003.
However, the policy was set aside over concerns boats were being scuttled and that such exercises were highly risky for Australian navy and border protection personnel.
Indonesian authorities have since expressed their opposition to the policy, revived by the current Coalition.
Mr Abbott told reporters in Brisbane today he was confident the problems could be overcome.
''I am confident we can have a more constructive and candid and collegial relationship with Indonesia than the current government has managed,'' he said.
He said the Federal Government had ''trashed'' Australia's relationship with Indonesia through its ''megaphone diplomacy''.Asked whether the tow-back policy had been through shadow cabinet, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey told reporters in Brisbane: ''It is our position to go ahead with that.''
Earlier, Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said Australia had a significant fleet of navy and customs vessels and a Coalition government would be deploying those assets necessary to get the job done.
But he would not explain just how that would be done.
''I am not about to give the people smugglers a heads-up about those sorts of operational matters,'' Mr Morrison told ABC radio today.
''What they can be assured of is they can expect an Abbott-led Coalition government to put an end to this madness and we will deploy the assets that are necessary to get the job done and the resolve that is needed to get the job done.''
The Opposition says 600 asylum seeker boats have reached Australian waters under Labor since 2007, with a surge in recent weeks.
More than 3300 asylum seekers have arrived by boat this year, more than double the arrivals in the same period in 2012.
Mr Morrison said the Coalition had been very clear about its policy of turning back asylum seeker boats where it is safe to do so.
Indonesia opposes the controversial plan and Labor and the defence force say people smugglers and asylum seekers will respond by sabotaging vessels to ensure they can't be returned, endangering passengers and defence personnel.
Mr Morrison said he was confident the Australian Defence Force, and particularly the navy, were quite capable of carrying out the policies of the government of the day.
''Our officers and our naval personnel are trained in these areas and we know that they have the capacity to get the job done, just like they do over in the (Persian) Gulf where they intercepted about 1000 vessels and many of those vessels had armed weapons pointing at them when they did so,'' he said.
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