The Malaysian solution to the asylum seeker problem would have to be renegotiated as it would not work in the current form, new Immigration Minister, Tony Burke said today.

He said a broader regional package was needed to be effective in deterring the flow of asylum-seekers.

In August 2011, the High Court dealt a crippling blow to Australia’s border protection policy when it struck down a plan to send back 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia in return for 4,000 approved refugees.

Burke said the regional summit proposed last week by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was an opportunity to progress a new ‘Malaysia-plus’ solution.

He also flagged the prospect of an expert team making a new assessment about how many asylum seekers would need to be sent back under any new deal to provide a more effective deterrent.

“Whatever it is, 800 places wouldn't be sufficient for the scale of the problem we have now,” Burke told ABC 24.

“You’d need an assessment from the experts as to exactly how many places you would need.”

Burke said he had no doubt the Malaysian solution would have worked at the time had it been supported by opposition leader Tony Abbott.

But a more effective deterrent was now required given the larger numbers of arrivals.

- Bernama