When senior Liberal politician, and close colleague of Tony Abbott's, Mike Baird said Australia had to do much more to help refugees, you could almost hear a collective gasp in political circles.
More than any international criticism of Australia's stance on refugees, the New South Wales premier's plea last week to Mr Abbott to "do even more" and "do it now" would surely have weighed heavily on the prime minister's mind.
Similar calls from other Liberal state premiers followed and thousands of Australians took to streets demanding the government help solve the biggest migrant crisis in decades.
Mr Abbott on Wednesday finally took note, announcing what will be one of Australia's biggest intakes of refugees since World War Two.