Gillard wants East Timor as a 'shunting ground': Brown

The Greens have attacked Julia Gillard's possible plans for an offshore processing centre in East Timor, while there are also questions as to how ready the fledgling nation would be in dealing with the PM's request

Julia Gillard has flagged East Timor and New Zealand as possible solutions to her 'boat people' election dilemma, but it will not be an easy answer.

She's willing to employ the poorest country in the region, East Timor, as a 'shunting place' for refugees, the Greens leader says.

Senator Bob Brown said he would raise the issue with East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta.

Ms Gillard has flagged a new border protection policy intended to deter people smugglers, and which may include processing of refugees' claims in a third country.

She has spoken to East Timor and New Zealand about the idea of setting up a regional processing centre for asylum seekers.

"I think it's a quick election fix by the Gillard government," Senator Brown told reporters during his tour of farming communities west of Brisbane.

"We'll know the real outcome after the election."

Meanwhile, the ABC reported Indonesia's Deputy PM Jose Luis Guterres as saying his government is not ready to establish a processing centre, although it is considering Australia's request.

"We have so many issues that we have to deal with and bringing another problem, another issue to the country, I don't think it's wise for any politician to do it," he said.

Brown said a deal struck with East Timor would be a repeat of the Pacific Solution, referring to the policy under which the Howard government sent asylum seekers to Nauru and Papua New Guinea for processing.

Senator Brown said less than two per cent of people arriving in Australia came by boat.

"If they're not warranting asylum in this country, send them home," he said.

"If they are, as with all of history, make them productive citizens in our own community."

He said opinion polls showed the majority of Australians believed people should be treated decently, legally and humanely, unless they were not genuine asylum seekers.

NZ cautious

Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says New Zealand is not prepared to raise its refugee intake and needs to address the increasing risk of people-smuggling boats hitting NZ shores, '

Mr Key has discussed with Julia Gillard the possibility of being involved in a "regional processing centre" in the Pacific for dealing with asylum seekers.

Key conceded the problem was increasingly relevant to New Zealand.

"The first thing I would say is that New Zealand is not immune to that issue. I have been warning New Zealanders for quite some time that these boats are becoming larger and therefore more capable of coming to New Zealand."

But he said he told Ms Gillard New Zealand wasn't interested in increasing its refugee take of 750 a year under the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) system, nor was it interested in accepting a reduction in the 'quality' of the refugees it accepts.

Key said a processing centre - which would not be on New Zealand soil - was likely to reward legitimate asylum seekers coming through the UNHCR system while blocking the illegal immigrants.

Key said more discussions about asylum seekers would be held in the future and would be on a "no promises" basis - but coming up with a regional solution did make sense.