SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Boat meeting wraps up without agreement

The federal government and opposition have failed to agree on a compromise over where asylum seekers should be processed, opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says.

asylum_boat_metrotv_2003777792

1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Skip to article content

The federal government and opposition have failed to agree on a compromise over where asylum seekers should be processed, opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says.

But he says the coalition hasn't closed the door on more discussions. Mr Morrison and Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Julie Bishop met with Immigration Minister Chris Bowen and Foreign Affairs minister Kevin Rudd in Sydney on Friday afternoon.

The government had offered to reopen a detention centre on Nauru, as advocated by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, if he in turn supported Labor's so-called Malaysian solution. Mr Morrison says the discussions failed to reach a conclusion.

"The government still has more work to do and a meeting will be convened, Mr Morrison told reporters. "We haven't closed the door to a discussion.

"It will be a matter for the government to initiate that contact and we will look forward to hearing from them when they are ready to do so."

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

A spokesman for Mr Bowen says the minister will address the media shortly.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world