SYDNEY - Australia's new Prime Minister Julia Gillard Sunday vowed not to let "political correctness" get in the way of tackling immigration, signaling a tough line on the issue.

Gillard, who ruthlessly deposed former leader Kevin Rudd and a week later solved the mining tax row that weakened him, said people should not be called racist for raising concerns about asylum seekers.

"I certainly dismiss labels like intolerant or racist because people raise concerns about border security, but we've also got to be very alive to the complexity of this and that there's no quick fix," Gillard told the Sunday Telegraph.