PM rules out offering resettlement

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has ruled out Australia accepting any of the refugees involved in a regional crisis that has left thousands of them stranded at sea.

Mr Abbott said it was important to make it crystal clear that those who board leaky boats should not think they were getting a ticket to a western country.

"If we do the slightest thing to encourage people to get on the boats, this problem will get worse, not better," he told reporters in Adelaide on Thursday.