Asylum emergency off Christmas Island pushes number of boat arrivals under Labor to 50,000 As well as Manus, PNG says it may also host asylum seekers in "community-based arrangements." AUSTRALIAN Navy personnel were racing to rescue asylum seekers in a stricken vessel off Christmas Island last night as Labor looked set to reach 50,000 boat arrivals. The emergency came as the Solomon Islands rejected Australian requests to settle boat refugees and Immigration Minister Tony Burke stitched together the PNG deal at the last minute. PNG last night signed a Memorandum of Understanding, Labor had rushed to sign before caretaker provisions began on Monday night, which does not rule out failed asylum seekers being returned to Australia with the country only agreeing to settle those found to be refugees. As well as at Manus Island, PNG may also host asylum seekers in "community-based arrangements." A similar resettlement deal with Nauru appeared destined for failure with the tiny nation in a political crisis over it and the government spokeswoman conceding the agreement Kevin Rudd announced to settle people permanently was "scary" to Nauruans. They could only remain for "a few years while they try to find a third country," she said as the country's acting president was yesterday hosting community forums to tell Nauruans asylum seekers would not be resettled there. Former foreign minister Kieren Keke said state television was being censored to prevent Opposition MPs giving interviews about the deal, which he called "crazy." There is total non-acceptance here. You have the Nauruan government trying to tell people here what they have agreed to is not permanent settlement, they have been on TV almost hourly repeating that message," he said. And then the Australian government is still coming out saying it does mean permanent settlement. A young asylum seeker gets ready to board a bus to the detention centre on Christmas Island. A Navy ship was responding to the latest emergency at sea last night with a RAAF P3 Orion flying above the stricken asylum boat to monitor it until a Navy vessel arrived. Australia's Rescue Co-ordination Centre "issued a broadcast to shipping after it received information a vessel north of Christmas Island was in need of assistance," a spokeswoman said. Since Labor was elected 49,965 had arrived, at a cost of more than $1 billion, with last night's vessel expected to push arrivals over 50,000. Mr Rudd maintained his deal with Nauru had not collapsed since he announced it on Saturday. "The language that we agreed with the government of Nauru ... was that a limited number of people would be allowed to 'settle and reside there,'" he said. That's the language that exists within their own tradition. That's what we've agree on, that's what we made public at the time. It came as Solomon Islands Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo said he would never accept a resettlement deal despite being asked by the Australian government. It was informally put to us and I rejected it," he said. He joined Fiji in criticising the deals the government was doing, saying: "It's not right, because a Pacific Solution has to be discussed properly with all the Pacific leaders." Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said: "What is happening in the Solomons and Fiji, for that matter as well, is you are seeing the reluctance to accept what Kevin Rudd is trying to impose." Opposition Leader Tony Abbott last night wrote to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet claiming the finalisation of the agreement after the dissolution of Parliament was a possible beach of caretaker conventions. Mr Burke's spokeswoman last night said that despite there being no written guarantee, failed asylum seekers would not return to Australia that the government would not accept the return of anyone sent to PNG. Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the memorandum enabled PNG to "veto" asylum seekers. "PNG will decide...there is an expressed veto," he said