In his first response letter to Ms Gillard, Mr Abbott wrote: ''If you do have a specific proposal to make and would care to do so in writing, my colleagues and I would be prepared to consider it.'' The Coalition's Immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison reiterated the point in a late morning press conference, telling the government: ''Put forward a proposal and we'll sit down to talk.'' According to the Immigration Minister, Acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan has written two subsequent letters to the Opposition seeking talks, but both have also been turned down. Mr Bowen said the Australian people had had ''a gutful of politicking''.They wanted Labor and Liberal politicians who supported offshore processing to sort this out, he said. They "are crying out" for a solution, but "Mr Abbott is saying 'no' to a meeting. He's saying 'No' to engaging."

Speaking before Mr Bowen's press conference, the opposition's immigration spokesman Scott Morrison called on the federal government to restore temporary protection visas before Christmas. Mr Morrison told Sky News that the so-called TPVs would help dissuade asylum seekers from making the perilous boat journey to Australia. He says the Coalition does not want to see a repeat of the latest tragedy, in which up to 200 people are missing after a boat heading for Australia sank off Indonesia's Java coast at the weekend. Mr Bowen said the government will continue to argue for offshore processing, especially its swap deal with Malaysia. The Australian People are crying out for the Government and Opposition to find a solution

''We believe it is an absolutely essential part of the policy,'' he said. He acknowledged the opposition had its own views, which he was happy to discuss. ''I want to sit in a room with Mr Morrison and talk those issues through,'' he said. ''I don't see why Mr Abbott is so scared of letting Mr Morrison into a room with me to see if a mutually-agreed outcome can be negotiated.'' Labor's people swap deal with Malaysia can't clear parliament where it's opposed by the coalition and Australian Greens. The opposition has proposed allowing the government to process asylum seekers offshore in countries that have signed up to the UN refugee convention.

Mr Bowen said the government was keen to arrive at a joint position with the opposition negotiated in a cooperative way. He insisted an offshore processing centre on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea was unlawful following a High Court ruling. The government's legal advice was that the ruling also would make very difficult the reopening of a processing centre on Nauru. Mr Morrison later told reporters in Sydney that Mr Bowen had misrepresented the coalition's response to the letters from Ms Gillard and Mr Swan. The immigration spokesman said Mr Abbott had made it clear the coalition was prepared to consider ''a specific proposal in writing''. Any deal put forward would be treated ''in strict confidence'', he said.

''It's not unreasonable for the coalition to simply say make us an offer, put something on the table and we'll talk about it,'' Mr Morrison said. ''But until then this is a hollow gesture.'' He said Labor was trying to provide a smokescreen to avoid the hard discussions the government had to have internally ''to fix this mess''. He didn't think the government was willing to compromise yet. Loading ''Even today he [Mr Bowen] was unable to commit to shifting the government's ground one inch,'' Mr Morrison said. ''The government has made no indication that it's prepared to change their view.''

with AAP

