Last-minute Labor talks on boat turnbacks

Originally posted by footy ↑

Last-minute Labor talks on boat turnbacks

Labor factional heavyweights are seeking a deal to head off a damaging debate over asylum seeker boat turnbacks.
Labor leader Bill Shorten on Wednesday revealed the party would support the option of boat turnbacks, which he had previously said the opposition would never allow.
It's since been revealed the shadow cabinet had a robust discussion on the issue before Mr Shorten's ABC interview announcing his U-turn.
However, as 400 ALP delegates meet in Melbourne for the party's national conference, some Left faction members were seeking ways to ensure a future Labor government does not allow turnbacks.
A decision on the wording of a resolution was delayed until Saturday morning, before a debate in the conference that afternoon.
Some factional players are arguing the wording of the party platform should be left as open as possible to give a Shorten government policy flexibility.
Others argue the platform should explicitly rule out turnbacks, contrary to Mr Shorten's position.
Mr Shorten is offering to double the humanitarian intake and abolish temporary protection visas but put in place time-limited mandatory detention and continue offshore processing.
Left faction member and shadow minister Penny Wong told reporters there were good people on both sides of the debate.
"No-one wants to see more people die at sea," she said.
"A key issue is obviously can turnbacks be done safely, are they consistent with our international obligations?
"The Abbott government says both of those conditions are being met but they're not prepared to tell Australians how. I think that is really unacceptable."
Shadow treasurer and Right powerbroker Chris Bowen said he expected Mr Shorten's position to prevail.
"On the floor of the conference there will be robust debates and there will be votes. At the end of the day, I expect Bill's position to be supported on the floor of the conference because it's the right position," he said.
Left faction powerbroker Anthony Albanese was coy on the issue, having told colleagues informally on Thursday night the party should not be appealing to the "darker sides" in the debate on asylum seekers.
"I will judge proposals based on the principles I have held on these issues," he told reporters.
Labor frontbencher Brendan O'Connor said if the party did not get its policy right "we'll see a return to hundreds of people dying at sea".
"That's not acceptable," he said.
"What we'd like to do is ensure that the deterrents in place and I think the leader's made that very clear and I think the Australian public agree."

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/07/24/last-minute-labor-talks-boat-turnbacks

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Only the loonie labor left does not want to turn back boats. They say its unsafe? I guess allowing 1200 people to drown without turn backs was the safe option?
Exactly why on earth would anyone with an IQ over 10 not see the logic is stopping these boats and halting the illegal death trade? What possible madness must these people have in their minds to think they have one ounce of moral high ground in this debate. I reckon we should take photos of these people and get them to answer this question. They must all be on prozac on the left side of politics or they must have a perverse sense of justice. The left have gone so mad with fighting a lost political cause, that they continue to wish votes away and expose people to drowning. I give up on these people, they might just be sick or who's express purpose is to destroy our country. We all know the left are old commies, but this stuff is just beyond logic and even Bill Shock Shorten has figured it out. You can't trust them anyway, because they would bow to pressure from the left to change the policy back as soon as they were elected. The party is corrupted by politics, money, egos, misinformation and power if this is a policy they want to fight against. Please don't vote for these people, they have lost the map, plot and compass.