Australians who get into trouble overseas in future should not expect the level of consular service offered now, Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr says.
More than 600 Australians were arrested last year while overseas, requiring an ever-increasing amount of help at the expense of fewer diplomatic services.
"I'm going to announce shortly a ... refinement in the level of consular services that Australians are able to seek," Senator Carr said.
"We've got too much diplomatic time being taken up looking after Australians, who in many cases should be taking responsibility for their own safety."
Senator Carr revealed his forthcoming plan in a foreign policy debate with opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop at the Lowy Institute in Sydney on Wednesday evening.
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If elected in September, Ms Bishop said the coalition would commit to reviewing the ballooning consular budget.
"There's only so much the Australian government can do if you have broken the law according to the laws of that country," she said.
The pair was also asked about Australia's security outlook in the Asia Pacific region.
Senator Carr said Australia's small population and vast continent, compared with our northern neighbours with big populations and no guarantees about their future stability, posed strategic challenges.
"Every day in this job I think, is this country, is this people going to be secure as we project into the future?" he said.
His goals for the region focused on a "zone of prosperity" for Indochina, economic growth and political maturity for Indonesia, and China achieving its goal of rich world status by 2049.
He also emphasised maintaining Australia's strategic alliance with the US.
Ms Bishop said Australia's economic strength was vital to our future security and criticised Labor's budget management.
She said spending on defence had been cut to the lowest level of expenditure as a per cent of GDP since 1938.
In closing, both were asked how their party's foreign policies differed from the other.
"We will make (foreign) aid for trade a cornerstone of our policy," Ms Bishop said.
"We believe that we should be promoting sustainable economic growth rather than aid handouts for the region."
The coalition would also commit to establishing further free trade agreements among Australia's major trading partners, Ms Bishop said.
Senator Carr cautioned against "linking aid to trade".
"When we say we'll wipe out malaria in the Solomon Islands by 2020, it's got nothing to do with trade," he said.
He also said Labor voted in the United Nations not to block enhanced Palestinian states, which goes against coalition policy.
