Will the new deal with Papua New Guinea stop asylum boats heading to Australia?

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has signed a regional deal to process and resettle refugees in Papua New Guinea. He says from today asylum seekers who come here by boat without a visa will never be settled in Australia.

Nine people are dead after an asylum seeker boat sunk off Christmas Island, officials say.

The Australian Greens has reacted furiously to the new plan. "This is a day of shame for the nation," Greens leader Christine Milne says.

The resettlement arrangement with PNG is for 12 months, with no cap on the number of arrivals that can be sent for processing or settlement.

Under the plan, if people are found not to be genuine refugees, they will either be sent home, or to a "safe" third country.

Australia will continue the current offshore processing arrangements with Nauru.

Prime Minister Rudd says the arrangement is within the scope of the UN Convention on Refugees.