In nothing more than a tricky attempt to try and win votes, Anthony Albanese has flipped his position on boat turnbacks mere days into the 2022 election.
Mr Albanese is taking the Australian people for mugs by claiming he sees the value of turnbacks, despite arguing against them at Labor’s national conference and declaring he couldn’t personally turn back a boat.
The fact is, turnbacks are just one part of strong border protection. Labor doesn’t have the understanding or strength to protect Australian borders.
We know that Albo is trying to have a bet each way, but Labor has refused to categorically say they support our policy that those who arrive in Australia illegally will never settle here, key to our border security success.
Mr Albanese likes to try and fudge the figures, but the numbers on Labor’s record on border security are clear:
More than 50,000 people arrived under Labor on 820 boats, with 1,200 tragic deaths at sea - that we know about.
Mr Albanese’s comments are too little, too late. Yes Albo, it is a good policy and one that saves lives.
When the Coalition came to office the number of people in held immigration detention was close to 10,000 - including women and children - as a result of Labor’s border failures. Today, it is a fraction of that and there are no children in held detention.
Because of our strong border management, the Coalition Government is now spending a billion dollars less every year on onshore detention arrangements than when we came into office.
We’ve also finalised arrangements with Papua New Guinea, which Labor entered into when they lost control of our borders.
Albo voted for the Greens-independent Medevac legislation and reiterated his support for the weakening of our border protection when he became Labor leader.
He says one thing before an election, but we know he will do the opposite, especially if he has to make a deal with the Greens to form Government.
The people smugglers trust Albo will put them back in business, but the Australian people know he can’t be trusted to protect our borders.