Malcolm Turnbull has defended the coalition's plan to buy up decrepit Indonesian boats, saying it's part of a broader solution to stop people smuggling.
The former opposition leader says voters should trust Tony Abbott and the coalition to do what Labor has failed to do - stop the boats.
"Mr Rudd is the architect of the people smuggling business.
There has never been a better friend to the people smugglers than Kevin Rudd," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Brisbane.
The coalition's regional framework to deter asylum seekers includes $20 million to buy Indonesian fishing boats to stop them from falling into the hands of people smugglers.
The plan also includes a stronger Australian Federal Police presence in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia; more money for aerial surveillance; and a program to equip Indonesian village "wardens" to provide intelligence about people smugglers.
The plan has been criticised in Jakarta, with a senior member of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling Coalition saying it showed Abbott lacked understanding of Indonesia, and the broader asylum-seeker problem.
Mahfudz Siddiq, the head of Indonesia's parliamentary commission for foreign affairs, said on Monday that it was Abbott's right to suggest the policy but warned that it had broader implications for the relationship between Jakarta and Australia.
"It's an unfriendly idea coming from a candidate who wants to be Australian leader," Siddiq told Australian Associated Press.
Mr Abbott did not say how much would be paid for each boat.
"It's much better and much more sensible to spend a few thousand dollars in Indonesia, than to spend $12 million processing the people who ultimately arrive here," he told reporters.
The broader plan announced by Mr Abbott in Darwin on Friday includes funding of $67 million to increase the presence of Australian Federal Police in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
Close to another $100 million would be spent to boost the aerial surveillance and search and rescue capacity of Indonesian authorities and $198 million to boost interception and transfer operations.
