ACT flags Canberra site for SIEV-X memorial

The ACT Government says Canberra would be an appropriate location for a memorial to remember hundreds of asylum seekers who drowned when their boat the SIEV-X sank four years ago.

More than 350 asylum seekers were killed when the overcrowded Indonesian fishing vessel sank en route to Australia.

A group of artists and writers is pushing for a national memorial on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin.

Chief Minister Jon Stanhope says Australians should recognise the tragedy but it is for the Federal Government to consider first.

"This is a national Commonwealth issue, it's not an ACT specific or ACT Government issue," he said.

"At this stage I haven't given serious consideration to whether the ACT Government should step in if the Commonwealth Government is resistant to working with this particular group."