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Stephen Fitzpatrick, Dili,July 08, 2010- The Australian
EAST Timor's leader Xanana Gusmao today advised Julia Gillard not to call him directly about her asylum-seeker plan until the idea was fully formed.
Prime Minister Gusmao said he was currently “very busy” with other government business and that he had asked President Jose Ramos-Horta to continue discussions with Ms Gillard and report back to him when the plan was more mature.
But Mr Gusmao gave conditional support to the proposal for asylum-seekers to be processed at a regional centre based in East Timor.
He said he had “open mind” on the proposal, but warned that he would need to see the detail of Ms Gillard's proposal. Even then, he said at a press conference in Dili, the plan would require extensive investigation by his government and lengthy debate in the parliament before the measure could proceed.
Ms Gillard has been accused of failing to properly consult East Timor about her boatpeople plan, with Tony Abbott saying it showed that amateurs were running the country.
Ms Gillard should have known to deal with East Timor's prime minister, not its president, who holds no executive role, the opposition leader said.
“The fact she did not know this and did not think to ask this demonstrates that frankly we have amateurs running the Australian government,” he said.
But Mr Gusmao denied being offended by Ms Gillard's diplomatic gaffe.
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Stephen Fitzpatrick, Dili,July 08, 2010- The Australian
EAST Timor's leader Xanana Gusmao today advised Julia Gillard not to call him directly about her asylum-seeker plan until the idea was fully formed.
Prime Minister Gusmao said he was currently “very busy” with other government business and that he had asked President Jose Ramos-Horta to continue discussions with Ms Gillard and report back to him when the plan was more mature.
But Mr Gusmao gave conditional support to the proposal for asylum-seekers to be processed at a regional centre based in East Timor.
He said he had “open mind” on the proposal, but warned that he would need to see the detail of Ms Gillard's proposal. Even then, he said at a press conference in Dili, the plan would require extensive investigation by his government and lengthy debate in the parliament before the measure could proceed.
Ms Gillard has been accused of failing to properly consult East Timor about her boatpeople plan, with Tony Abbott saying it showed that amateurs were running the country.
Ms Gillard should have known to deal with East Timor's prime minister, not its president, who holds no executive role, the opposition leader said.
“The fact she did not know this and did not think to ask this demonstrates that frankly we have amateurs running the Australian government,” he said.
But Mr Gusmao denied being offended by Ms Gillard's diplomatic gaffe.
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