Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says East Timor's parliament has delivered a "thumping vote of no confidence" on the government's asylum seekers policy.
The parliament on Monday rejected Prime Minister Julia Gillard's plan for a regional processing centre for asylum seekers in East Timor.
"The parliament of East Timor has delivered a thumping vote of no confidence in this never-never solution," Mr Morrison told reporters in Sydney.
"East Timor does not want to play any role in this political stunt by our prime minister Julia Gillard to pursue her political purposes rather than genuinely advance the interests of the region on what is a difficult and sensitive solution."
Mr Morrison said Nauru, which hosted an offshore processing centre as part of former prime minister John Howard's "Pacific Solution", was open for negotiations regarding reopening the facilities there.
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"The Nauru government is ready to talk to the Australian government," he said. Mr Morrison declined to say whether the opposition would reopen the centre if elected but said the Nauru approach worked.
"It was a solution that worked ... it provided integrity to the way our borders are managed," he said.
Ms Gillard on Tuesday sought to play down the parliament's rejection, saying the East Timor government was still open to hosting the centre. Australian officials held talks with their Timorese counterparts about the asylum-seeker centre plan on Monday.
