Gillard not tough enough: Opposition

The federal opposition has rounded on Julia Gillard's tougher asylum seeker policy, saying it doesn't go far enough.

That's because Labor is still refusing to reintroduce temporary protection visas, the Opposition says.

The prime minister on Tuesday announced she'd had discussions with East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta regarding the possibility of establishing a regional processing centre on the island state.

This followed the Coalition's policy announcment.

"Arriving by boat would just be a ticket back to the regional processing centre," Ms Gillard said in Sydney.

But opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says that's not a sufficient deterrent because asylum seekers could still gain permanent residency once in Australia.

"What we provide here provides an incentive to people smugglers to sell a product," he told Sky News.

"Temporary protection visas are critical to that (deterrence) package and it's something that they (Labor) continue to refuse to do."

'We won't let children drown': Gillard

Earlier, Gillard announced Labor's policy, slamming the Opposition.

"Our nation would not leave children to drown," she said

The PM said the government would focus on stopping asylum seekers from leaving their points of origin, and aim to 'wreck the people smuggling trade'.

Australia would work in collaboration with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Gillard said.

But refugee advoactes are concerned at the direciton of political discussion.

Bruce Baird MP told Sky News that the current debate was xenophobic.

Opposition: We don't believe Gillard

But Morrison said he didn't believe the Gillard government would set up an offshore processing centre, anyway.

The coalition, on the other hand, had a proven track record on that front with the Pacific Solution.

Mr Morrison said in 2002, Ms Gillard supported turning back seaworthy boats, but she was now rubbishing the coalition's pledge to do just that.

"So who knows what Julia Gillard believes in.

"She'll tell anybody what they want to know before an election.

"She's Kevin Rudd with red hair when it comes to these issues."

Abbott to turn back the boats

Just before Gillard's announcement on Tuesday morning, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the Coalition's policy on asylum seekers would include turning boats back 'wherever possible', especially in cases where passengers had destroyed their passports to avoid identity checks.

Abbott accused Labor of 'creating the problem' of asylum seekers, saying the government therefore could not be trusted to fix it.

"If you want to stop the boats, you have to change the government," Abbott said.