Bill Shorten faces stiff opposition from Labor's left faction on boat turn-backs about-face

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Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will come up against stiff opposition at the ALP's national conference this weekend when he tries to convince his party to support turning back asylum seeker boats.

Mr Shorten confirmed he had changed his mind on the policy on the ABC's 7.30 program on Wednesday night.

"I can no longer escape the conclusion that Labor, if we form a government, needs to have all the options on the table," Mr Shorten said.

He said he now believed the Coalition's policy of turning back asylum seeker boats, in conjunction with resettling asylum seekers offshore, had worked.

"It's not easy, though, because it involves the admission, I think, that mistakes were made when Labor was last in government," he said.

"If I want to be the leader of this nation, I've got to be able to face the truth. And the truth for me is that if we have policies in place which gives sustenance and support to people smugglers to exploit vulnerable people, where they put these vulnerable people on unsafe boats and then people drown at sea, I can't support any policies which do that."

Federal MP Andrew Giles, from Labor's left faction, confirmed the policy backflip would be fought when the ALP meets to discuss its policy platforms this weekend.

"I will be arguing for a policy that does not support turn-backs," Mr Giles said.

"I'm concerned about the breach, as I see it, of international law."

Another Labor MP, Anna Burke, said she was very disappointed by the Opposition Leader's announcement.

"I'm not in a position to support that policy," Ms Burke said.

"I don't think there's a need to be trumpeting turn-backs."

She argued the opposition should be supporting a more humane approach.

"I do think that there will be a lot of people this morning trying to weigh up whether they'll be able to vote for Labor at the next election," Ms Burke said.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said Mr Shorten was making a big mistake.

"All it [the turn-backs policy] does is push vulnerable refugees over the horizon to die in somebody else's waters," she said.

"Many Labor supporters will be heartbroken."

Paul Power from the Refugee Council of Australia accused Mr Shorten and his immigration spokesman Richard Marles, who has written an opinion piece supporting turn-backs, of "pandering to the politics of fear".

"The Australian Labor Party, which aspires to be a party of the centre, is being asked by its leader to abandon its principles of fairness, compassion and respect for international law and copy the Liberal-National Coalition's policy of forcing back people seeking protection from persecution," Mr Power said.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said Labor was only putting forward the "option" of turn-backs and questioned whether the party would follow through.

"This is not a definite policy proposal," he said.

"The Labor Party's track record of failure when it comes to border protection, I think, should sound alarm bells."

Mr Shorten also indicated that if elected he might increase Australia's refugee intake.

"We'll have more to say on this ... I do believe we can probably take more refugees."

Mr Shorten's announcement on turn-backs came just days after a suspected asylum boat was spotted off the coast of Dampier in Western Australia.

The boat, carrying what are believed to be Vietnamese asylum seekers, was spotted by crew members on an oil tanker at first light on Monday morning about 150 kilometres offshore.

Water police were called in to help locate it, and the ABC understands an Australian Navy boat followed later.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has refused to provide any details in response to the reports, saying it is an "iron law" of his Government not to comment on operational matters.

Topics: community-and-society, immigration, alp, federal-government, refugees, australia

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