Oh dear I was hoping for more sense from her but I should have known better:
DEPUTY East Timor PM Jose Luis Guterres yesterday indicated his country would be unable to accept Australia's plan to build an asylum-seeker processing centre.
Amid increasing signs of opposition to the plan in East Timor, Ms Gillard yesterday held discussions with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and pledged $25 million to fund a crackdown on people-smuggling across the region, including patrol boats and surveillance planes to help Jakarta's efforts.
East Timor leaders Xanana Gusmao and Jose Ramos-Horta will meet this morning to debate the Australian government's plan, but Mr Guterres yesterday said his country had previously rejected a similar request from former foreign minister Alexander Downer and was still "not in a condition to accept a detention centre".
It might have been an idea to clear it up with the East Timores leaders first don't you think?
It's possible she didn't actually want to implement that plan, and exepected the East Timores leaders to reject it, and just proposed it to win some political points before the next election.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, but considering the result I doubt it. All it has achieved is make her look foolish
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