GILLARD ASKS UN CHIEF FOR ASYLUM - CENTRE HELP

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Julia Gillard is greeted on arrival at the Hilton Hotel in Hanoi yesterday. Picture: Kym Smith Source: The Australian

Matthew Franklin, Chief political correspondent - The Australian - October 30, 2010

JULIA Gillard last night appealed to the UN for co-operation in establishing a regional processing centre for asylum-seekers in East Timor.

The Prime Minister also met Singapore Prime Minister Hsien Loong Lee but avoided any formal discussion of the proposed Singaporean takeover of the Australian Securities Exchange, which will be examined by the Foreign Investment Review Board.

Ms Gillard, in the Vietnamese capital for the East Asia Summit, told reporters she would raise several issues in her meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, including her bid to cripple the operations of people-smugglers by having all arrivals processed in East Timor or another country. "As I participate in bilateral meetings associated with this summit I will be talking about the regional protection framework and regional processing centre," she said.

Ms Gillard, who canvassed the issue with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key last night, will also discuss it with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when she visits Indonesia early next week.

Ms Gillard, who will hold meetings with several regional leaders on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit, said she was excited that the US and Russia would join the grouping next year.

She said the mission for the Hanoi summit was to "settle" the new diplomatic architecture so it could become a vital venue for a comprehensive regional dialogue.

Asked whether she would raise the ASX takeover with her Singaporean counterpart, Ms Gillard said the issue was a matter for the proper process -- the FIRB review, which would carefully weigh the national interest.

She was guarded about a growing push for a UN investigation into human rights abuses in Burma but confirmed she would raise the issue in her bilateral meetings.

The trip, her second as Prime Minister, will give Ms Gillard her first serious chance to engage in foreign policy in the Asian region since she ousted Kevin Rudd in June. She will head to Malaysia tomorrow.
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