Samantha Hawley reported this story on Friday, June 28, 2013 18:10:00

PETER LLOYD: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the Coalition's turn-back-the-boats asylum seeker policy risks a diplomatic crisis with Indonesia.



Mr Rudd warned the Coalition and Indonesia were on a policy collision course that could incite open conflict.



It happened during Kevin Rudd's first media conference since toppling Julia Gillard.



The reaction though was swift; outrage from the Opposition; derision from one former defence chief.



From Canberra, Samantha Hawley.



SAMANTHA HAWLEY: In his first press conference since his return to the leadership, Kevin Rudd dropped a bombshell. He took the condemnation of the tow-back-the-boats policy to a whole new level, declaring conflict could unfold between Australia and one of its closest allies.



KEVIN RUDD: I'm very concerned about whether, if Mr Abbott were to become prime minister and continues that rhetoric and that posture and actually tries to translate it into reality, I really wonder whether he's trying to risk some sort of conflict with Indonesia.



SAMANTHA HAWLEY: So does he mean armed conflict?



KEVIN RUDD: What I'm talking about is diplomatic conflict, but I'm always wary about where diplomatic conflicts go. Konfrontasi with Indonesia evolved over a set of words and turned into something else. Let's just, let's just call it for what it is.



SAMANTHA HAWLEY: And what is it?



KEVIN RUDD: If the ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia in Australia says that the policy of the government of Indonesia is not one which would faintly support the policy put forward by Mr Abbott, and secondly if Mr Abbott as prime minister then seeks to do that, you end up with a pretty robust diplomatic conflict and I become a little uncertain as to where that heads.



SAMANTHA HAWLEY: Mr Rudd says he hopes that wouldn't happen.



KEVIN RUDD: I'm not suggesting that Mr Abbott would intentionally head in that direction at all. But I'm saying very clearly that you have a policy collision here between what he says and what the government of Indonesia says.



You've got to ask this question; so what happens on day one when field marshal Tony puts out the order to the captain of the Australian naval frigate X to turn back a bunch of boats? And you've got naval frigate from the Indonesian navy on the other side of the equation.



SAMANTHA HAWLEY: The Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop was out of the blocks as soon as the Prime Minister had finished talking.



JULIE BISHOP: Kevin Rudd has revealed the ugly tactics that he intends to use in his new government, and that is to make absurd and wild claims that the Coalition would trigger a conflict with Indonesia over people smuggling.



It is utterly irresponsible and reckless for the Prime Minister of this country to try and use our bilateral relationship with Indonesia for base domestic political purposes. He tries to suggest there's going to be a conflict with Indonesia under a Coalition government? It's outrageous and it should be utterly and absolutely condemned.



SAMANTHA HAWLEY: Do you acknowledge though that Indonesia has said on numerous occasions now that it will not take the boats back?



JULIE BISHOP: The policy that we have articulated time and time again is the policy that the Howard government usedů



SAMANTHA HAWLEY: And it's a policy conflict now though isn't there, as Kevin Rudd said, because Indonesia has said it will not take the boats back.



JULIE BISHOP: Indonesia has not changed its position. The Coalition has not changed its position.



SAMANTHA HAWLEY: Bringing conflict with Indonesia into the asylum seeker debate will ensure the Government's argument against its opponent's policy will get attention.



But even the former head of the defence force, Chief Admiral Chris Barrie, says Mr Rudd's comments are far-fetched.



CHRIS BARRIE: You know on one hand I think a declared policy of tow-back doesn't make any sense at all and I think it's encouraging people smugglers to put the lives of asylum seekers at risk, and on the other hand I think it's going too far to suggest that we might actually engage in a shooting war over it.



SAMANTHA HAWLEY: So there'd be no circumstances that you could see, for instance, that an Australian navy boat was trying to turn an asylum seeker boat around and then the Indonesian navy came in and there was some sort of conflict that took place?



CHRIS BARRIE: Well it's very hard to see how we would fight over this. You can make this a very difficult situation if you want to, but the idea we would actually start to fight over this, I think you know, I think is just going too far.



SAMANTHA HAWLEY: Kevin Rudd has yet to announce whether he'll attend the scheduled bilateral talks in Jakarta with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono which Julia Gillard would have travelled to next week.



He had spoken with the Indonesia president this afternoon.



PETER LLOYD: Samantha Hawley reporting.