Bill Shorten Refuses To Rule Out Labor Adopting The Government’s Boats Policy

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Published

June 29, 2015

Rather than provide any real hook or alternative to the current leadership, and instead adopting the a different shade of the same beige bullshit currently being served up by Canberra, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten today refused to rule out the possibility of the Labor Party adopting the Abbott Government‘s current policy of blanket, mandatory, “it’s not our problem anymore” asylum seeker boat turnbacks.

Living up to his growing reputation as a damp sponge, Shorten today refused to defuse calls from Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon who yesterday suggested the party should adopt turnbacks as standard policy – ahead of what’s expected to be a hotly contested debate at the ALP National Conference next month.”

“Labor believes in a compassionate approach to refugees and a constructive approach to asylum seekers. I am determined to make sure that never again do the seaways between Java and Christmas Island become the opportunity for people smugglers to put unsuspecting people into unsafe boats and drown at sea. That is our position.”

Labor Immigration spokesman Richard Marles, who in the past has also publicly contemplated the idea of adopting the blanket turn-back policy, today argued that such measures were compassionate.

“We don’t want to see a reopening of the journey between Java and Christmas Island, and for good reason. We don’t want to see the human tragedy that has happened in the past unfold again. We are motivated by a position of compassion.”

A statement at least in part inspired by the constant braying and echoing from the incumbent Abbott Government over the past two years.

The push to adopt that as policy by the ALP will face pressure from the party’s Left Wing factions, who are expected to fight the measures vigorously at the upcoming National Conference.

But meanwhile as far as Governmental leadership goes, we’re at a stage now where Tony Abbott is firmly entrenched in the top job for the Coalition – no matter how bad the opinion polls look at any given time – and his opponent Bill Shorten cannot be removed from his post until the next election, due to reactionary changes in ALP policy. A literal battle between a Douche and a Turd Sandwich.