Federal Election 2016: Headache for Shorten as trio jump ship

THREE Labor candidates in Queensland will become a liability for Bill Shorten today amid revelations they previously attacked the ALP’s asylum seeker policy.

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THREE Labor candidates in Queensland will become a liability for Bill Shorten today amid revelations they previously attacked the ALP’s asylum seeker policy.

As the Opposition Leader desperately tries to cut the political albatross from his neck, his candidates in Fairfax, Fisher and Wide Bay have urged Labor to soften its platform or have aligned themselves with refugee groups who have railed against the ALP.

Wide Bay’s Lucy Stanton, Bill Gissane, who is running in Fisher, and Scott Anderson, who will run in Fairfax, are among a growing number of candidates who have previously voiced their frustration with asylum seeker policies in Australia.

Mr Gissane said on his Twitter account in January that he opposed offshore detention and was “seeking to change current stance’’.

Mr Anderson has his photo listed on a Queensland Labor for Refugees petition web page which attacks the ALP for turnbacks.

Ms Stanton said on her Twitter page: “Manus needs to be shut and both Labor and Libs need a decent bipartisan policy.”

Comment was sought from ALP state secretary Evan Moorhead last night.

It will also be revealed today Sydney federal Labor candidate for Bradfield, Katie Gompertz, has in the past two years blasted asylum seeker policy and deficit levy Labor supports.

Malcolm Turnbull yesterday seized on the growing number of Labor candidates and MPs who have publicly and privately scorched offshore processing and boat turnbacks.

“Mr Shorten says that he agrees with the Government’s policy, that’s what he says,’’ Mr Turnbull said.

“We have now more than two dozen — 25 at latest count — of his candidates and backbenchers who are unhappy and disassociate themselves with (Labor’s asylum seeker policy).

“The reality is that they are just the tip of the iceberg. They are the symptom of a fundamental problem that Mr Shorten has, which is that the Labor Party does not agree with the Government’s strong policy on border protection.”

Mr Shorten yesterday accused Mr Turnbull of dishonesty: “He has clearly decided that he’s going to say as often as he can that Labor won’t tackle the people smugglers ... There is no truth to any aspect or any detail of what he’s saying. Mr Turnbull’s clearly been told lies or he’s telling lies.”

Earlier this month it was revealed Labor’s candidate for Herbert, Cathy O’Toole, had protested for refugees. Last week, Ms O’Toole said she backed the ALP’s position but would not say “turn-backs”