Both Julia Gillard and the leader of Australia's conservative opposition, Tony Abbott, talk about finding a “regional solution” to Australia's refugee problem. But for want of a functioning regional forum, the issue is pursued bilaterally. Mr Abbott says he wants to reopen mothballed facilities for keeping refugees on the tiny, bankrupted island of Nauru. Once rich in phosphates, Nauru desperately needs Australian cash. But its 18-member parliament has been deadlocked for months, and consequently unable to select a new president. Without a government in place, says Ms Gillard, Nauru cannot sign the UN Convention on Refugees. Mr Abbott disagrees, and so does Nauru's foreign minister, Kieren Keke. Since both factions in the fractious little parliament agree that the UN Convention ought to be signed (though they agree on little else), Messrs Abbot and Keke reason, Nauru should be capable of passing legislation to allow the reopening of a detention centre there.

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