Election 2022 live: PM suffers first gaffe, Albo can’t name crucial figure
Scott Morrison has reacted after he and his counterpart Anthony Albanese slipped up on key figures, as the PM warned climate independents pose a ‘great risk’.
Federal Election
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Anthony Albanese have both slipped up on key figures today with one suffering his first major gaffe and the other unable to put a figure on a key policy.
Mr Morrison – who had yet to experience the slip ups that continue to haunt his Labor rival – suffered his first campaign gaffe, incorrectly stating the rate of JobSeeker while being quizzed by journalists in Perth.
He incorrectly said jobseekers were paid $46 a week while answering a question on the cost of living.
The actual figure is $46 per day.
While at a photo opportunity in Perth, Mr Morrison was asked to clarify whether or not he knows the rate.
“I misspoke,” he said of his error this morning.
“(The rate is) $46 a day.”
He refused to answer whether he was out of touch with Australians on the scheme.
Labor’s housing and homelessness spokesman Jason Clare was quick to highlight the error and took to Twitter to call for the prime minister to correct the record.
“Today Scott Morrison got the Jobseeker rate wrong. Not by a little – he was out by $276 a week,” he said.
“Will he come out and correct the record?”
It comes as Morrison on Monday afternoon promised $1.6m to à Perth BMX club should the coalition be returned after next months election.
The last stop of the prime minister’s full day in Perth featured a call in to Wanneroo BMX club in the liberal held seat of Pearce. The coalition is hoping to hold on to the seat which has been held by former attorney general Christian Porter since 2013.
Mr Morrison, liberal candidate Linda Aitkin and Attorney-General/WA Senator Michaelia Cash were welcomed by scores of young riders, who cheered when they were told of the prime minister’s election commitment.
Mr Morrison cleared the gates for dozens of riders, some of whom called out “love you ScoMo” as they rode past.
“Careful,” Mr Morrison called out in response.
Meanwhile, Mr Albanese was unable to put a figure to how many additional nurses and GPs Australia will need to cover a raft of Labor health policies as his Brisbane press conference was crashed by protesters today.
Last week, Labor unveiled its plan to roll out 50 urgent care clinics across the country, which it claims would be up and running next year.
But for the second day in a row, Mr Albanese could not name how many additional health care professionals will be needed to staff the facilities.
“We know that it’s a challenge but we also know that we have an obligation regardless of who’s in government to train more nurses, to train more doctors,” he told reporters in Brisbane.
But he was quizzed further: “You’re not giving the finer detail as to what’s behind (the health policies),” a reporter asked.
“So do you know how many nurses you will need?”
“Each place is different. We know for example the melanoma institute … will use that funding of $14 million to employ additional nurses,” Mr Albanese responded.
“They say that that will allow them to employ 35 additional nurses.”
Mr Albanese added Labor would be investing in TAFE and additional university places to boost the number of healthcare professionals.
“We’ll have more to say about this as we go down the track of this campaign as well.”
Mr Albanese met with several young families in the seat of Brisbane who’ve been impacted by recent floods.
Visiting homes in the suburb of Auchenflower, Mr Albanese heard of couples with young babies having to evacuate via boats.
One father, Andy Hamblin, revealed his newborn son Ethan was one of them.
The father joked that he hoped his son wasn’t traumatised.
“First boat trip was on a street in a suburb,” Mr Albanese joked.
LIBERAL MP’S SHOCK ANNOUNCEMENT
Outgoing Liberal MP Catherine Cusack says she is “ignoring party politics” to throw her support behind a Greens candidate.
Ms Cusack announced on Monday afternoon she would back comedian and author Mandy Nolan in her bid to claim the electorate of Richmond from Labor at the federal election on May 21.
“She has integrity, intelligence & empathy and will be a problem woman in Canberra fighting for our community,” Ms Cusack wrote of Ms Nolan on Twitter.
“We face hung Parliament and so need Mandy there at the table putting Richmond community first.”
Richmond takes in much of the Northern Rivers region of NSW including Tweed Heads and Ballina, the alternative meccas of Mullumbimby and Byron Bay and coastal areas including Ms Cusack’s hometown of Lennox Head.
Held by Justine Elliot on a margin of 4.1 per cent, the seat was badly affected by the floods crisis which swept through southeast Queensland and northern NSW earlier this year.
Ms Nolan responded on social media to thank Ms Cusack for her endorsement on Monday, later telling NCA NewsWire she wasn’t surprised by it.
“This electorate has been abandoned by major parties and as you’ve seen through the floods, Richmond really deserves a seat at the table. That’s why I’m here,” she said.
“We don’t want another 17 years of a backbencher in this seat. The only way this seat will get attention is with me on the cross bench. And I think Catherine, with her long history in politics, knows that.”
I am ignoring Party politics and supporting @MandyNolan2482 for Richmond. She has integrity, intelligence & empathy and will be a problem woman in Canberra fighting for our community. We face hung Parliament and so need Mandy there at the table putting Richmond community first. pic.twitter.com/I61ww0Rv4x
— Catherine Cusack (@katieqs) April 18, 2022
Ms Cusack in March spectacularly announced she would resign from NSW state parliament because of her anger towards Scott Morrison’s response to the flooding crisis and the allocation of disaster relief payments to different areas.
She later said she couldn’t vote for the re-election of a Morrison government despite being a longtime Liberal member and MP in the NSW Legislative Council.
Flood affected communities in the towns of Ballina, Byron and Tweed – all located in the Richmond electorate – were initially excluded from $2000 of payments offered to towns in the neighbouring Nationals-held seat of Page.
The Morrison government later expanded the payments scheme, saying it had been waiting on an official assessment of the excluded towns to sign off on the financial relief.
There is a possibility neither the Coalition nor Labor will secure the 76 seats needed for a majority in the House of Representative at this election, which would lead to a hung parliament.
One side of politics would then have to negotiate with cross bench MPs in order to form government.
“The cross bench MPs will be able to change things. Those on Major Party backbench will be irrelevant – this is our opportunity to put our community on the radar big time with Mandy,” Ms Cusack tweeted on Monday.
Once a Nationals-leaning rural seat, Richmond has returned Justine Elliot since 2004. But the Greens have steadily eaten into the Labor vote in recent years, boosted by supporters in the Byron shire.
Ms Nolan describes herself on her official Greens website as “a performer, comedian, MC, writer, author, artist, teacher, ambassador and activist” and says she can win the seat with “just a 5 per cent increase”.
She said on Monday she was optimistic about her chances and that she would help Labor form a minority government in the event of a hung parliament.
“This weekend we put up more than 1000 corflutes, all at supporters’ houses. On the ground you can see our support is huge,” she told NCA NewsWire.
“I do believe I’ve got a really good chance at this election. I’m here absolutely for all the right reasons. I’m here to represent the community.”
‘REALLY WORRYING’: SCOMO CALLED OUT
The Prime Minister has copped criticism online for not wearing a mask to a benefit event for sick children.
Scott Morrison’s staff uploaded two pictures of the Prime Minister interacting with children at the Good Friday Appeal event Kids Day Out in Melbourne.
Online commentators questioned why the Prime Minister didn’t cover his face when being physically close to the children.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was also pictured at the event interacting with a child without wearing a mask.
While Victorian mask rules did not apply, the event recommended visitors mask up whenever physical distancing was difficult.
“Please bring a mask with you (especially if you are catching public transport), and wear it anywhere you find it difficult to social distance,” event organisers wrote on the Good Friday Appeal website.
A spokeswoman for the Premier said no rules were broken.
“Every attendee of the press conference was following the current Covid settings,” she said.
Victorian state mask rules were changed on February 25 to only require face coverings in certain situations.
The places where masks are still mandatory include public transport, hospitals, courts and many school settings.
Attendees at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre are not required to wear masks under the rules.
The Prime Minister‘s Facebook post said: “Great to visit the Royal Children’s Hospital Kids Day Out Good Friday Appeal this afternoon in Melbourne.”
“Our Government is giving $2 million to the appeal to help fund new research, equipment and care programs for sick kids.”
Some people reacted in the comment field to Mr Morrison’s uncovered face, some of whom were apparently under the mistaken impression the event was held at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
A hospital spokeswoman said neither of the pictures was taken there and that no RCH patients attended the event.
“You visited with sick kids but didn’t wear a mask? As the mum of a little girl with high and complex medical needs, this horrifies and angers me,” one person wrote in response to the Prime Minister’s post.
Others applauded Mr Morrison for bringing attention to the cause and committing funds to support the Good Friday Appeal.
“This isn’t just about backing the doctors, nurses and carers who make such a difference, it’s about supporting the services that help these young patients’ families too,” Mr Morrison said in a statement on Friday.
The Premier and Prime Minister were far from the only ones to go maskless to the event, with pictures from the exhibition centre showing mostly bare faces.
However, one woman who was captured in one of the photos the Prime Minister uploaded was wearing a mask.
The Good Friday Appeal raised a record-breaking $22,328,154, which will help fund the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Mr Andrews was previously fined $400 for not wearing a mask on two occasions in 2021 when doing so was mandatory.
The Prime Minister’s office has been contacted for comment.
LABOR LOST ON ASYLUM SEEKERS
Labor MP Patrick Gorman has been unable to say what would happen to asylum seekers who can’t resettle while insisting the party didn’t support temporary protection visas.
It comes after leader Anthony Albanese was forced to clarify his position on TPVs on Sunday after accidentally reversing the party’s stance.
Mr Gorman, who holds the seat of Perth, was asked what would happen to the “legacy cohort” of asylum seekers who hadn’t been able to resettle.
“We can’t fix all of the challenges that will be left for Labor if we were fortunate to win the election but on this question of temporary protection visas, we don’t see that that’s the solution going forward,” he said.
Pressed further, Mr Gorman was unable to say.
“There’s been a range of opportunities for the government over the years in terms of working with partners, working with New Zealand, working with the United States, working with others, looking for ways to resettle people,” he said.
“That should be our focus.
“As I said it shouldn’t be here in Australia but there are plenty of opportunities that if you want to resettle people in a resettlement arrangement that is not here in Australia then that should be the goal.
“Temporary protection visas don’t solve that problem, they just kick it on down for the next government and the next government.”
Meanwhile Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday announced his government would buy two new border patrol boats as part of a $124 million funding pledge aimed at strengthening Australia’s navy capabilities and border force protection.
The two boats are scheduled to be delivered by late 2023.
Mr Morrison took aim at Labor’s 2008 abolishment of TPVs and said it was “disappointing” Mr Albanese had not learned anything from his party’s past.
“When I was the Shadow Minister for Immigration, we were dealing in this country with an even worse border protection crisis … we were seeing 1200 people that we know who perished,” he said.
“And for two years, we worked to put in place a policy that we knew would not come overnight... It took 10 years.
“We set out very clearly that the way to fix this problem is to have that three strand cord of temporary protection of offshore process and turning back boats where it was safe to do so.”
Mr Albanese on Sunday said he supported the operation and retention of TPVs before saying he had misheard the question and then clarifying that he did not support them.
“Earlier on I heard half the question and didn’t hear all of it,” he said.
“Labor’s policy is to support Operation Sovereign Borders, we support offshore processing, we support resettlement to third countries, we don’t support temporary protection visas.”
SCOMO WARNS OF ‘GREAT RISK’ AND ‘CHAOS’ TO PARLIAMENT
Mr Morrison has left the door open to a deal with independents in the event of a hung parliament.
The Prime Minister was asked twice if he would rule out forming an alliance with the so-called climate independents.
He remained coy on both occasions, instead imploring voters not to “risk” plunging parliament back into “chaos and uncertainty.”
“We intend to win majority government at the election,” he told reporters in Fremantle.
“I am anticipating the Liberals will be returned because they are doing a great job on the ground in those seats.”
He added it was hard to call them independents, claiming they were only “running against Liberal members”.
“You just don’t know what you are going to get. You don’t know who they are going to support, and who they are not going to support, you don’t know what the policies are.
“Contracting out your decision to an independent candidate who doesn’t know which way they are going to jump, I don’t think that’s a vote for stability and certainty.”
PROTESTERS CRASH ALBANESE PRESS CONFERENCE
A group of protesters holding pro-Coalition placards gatecrashed Mr Albanese’s press conference on Monday.
The Labor leader and following press pack was greeted by a group of protesters who had gathered at Auchenflower in Brisbane.
The signs, authorised by Queensland LNP state director Lincoln Folo, claim life under Labor will not be “so Alban-easy”.
Another sign held by a number of participants pokes fun at the Labor inability to recall the unemployment rate when asked earlier in the campaign.
“Albanese cheat sheet,” the sign reads before outlining the unemployment rate (4 per cent) and cash rate (0.1 per cent).
BARNES’ SON, ALBO RESPOND AFTER BLUESFEST BOOING
Boos threatened to drown out the cheers that greeted Mr Albanese when he walked on stage at Bluesfest to introduce Jimmy Barnes to the crowd in what proved a risky campaign move.
Before the Labor leader had even walked on stage the crowd began booing at the event MC’s mention of the “federal election coming up” and only intensified as he took the microphone.
Despite the mixed reception, loud cheers went up when Mr Albanese mentioned two key Labor policies, including having a referendum on having First Nations’ Voice to parliament, as well as more support for the arts industry.
“What we want is a government that backs the arts sector,” Mr Albanese said.
He then introduced Barnes on stage, who launched straight into his set.
The response was in stark contrast to the Mr Albanese’s rock star welcome when he arrived at Bluesfest earlier on Easter Sunday, making good on his vow to “shake off” a rough first week of election campaigning.
On Monday, Mr Albanese brushed aside his Bluesfest booing, dancing around questions about if Australians can forgive him despite his recent policy fumbles.
Asked if he was concerned about the optics given his recent drop in the polls, Mr Albanese instead used it as an opportunity to discuss the “terrific night” he had.
“It (was) a terrific night last night and I thank Barnesy for the invite,” he told reporters in Brisbane.
“I interacted with a whole lot of artists yesterday as well as a lot of people. And the artists, uniformly, were just grateful that they were able to perform.
“(Artists) have been doing it really tough, and it’s good that Bluesfest, a great festival, was able to go ahead.”
When asked again, Mr Albanese refused to be drawn on his personal popularity – or lack thereof.
“I’m not a commentator. What I know is that Australia needs a new government,” he added.
Mr Barnes’ son, David Campbell, on Monday afternoon aimed to clear the confusion, saying he had spoken to his father following reporting of the event and subsequent social media commentary.
“Albo was definitely a guest of the event and most certainly NOT a gatecrasher. Albo was invited and welcomed because he has an Arts policy which aligns with what my dad thinks the entertainment sector of this country needs,” Mr Campbell said on Twitter.
Mr Campbell said on Monday the “booing was because the band were on stage, the crowd were pumped and ready to rock”.
“When the ‘working class man’ was announced, Albo came on. Classic switch. There were a few boos, but more cheers,” he said.
“My dad added that most support acts get booed, as do most politicians at these events – but from where he stood, Albo went over really well with the crowd.
“Most importantly, he told me, after Albo left the stage, the gig was massive and everyone had the best night. Which, when you are at Bluesfest, after two years of cancellations, is the most important outcome!”
MORRISON FOCUSES ON NATIONAL SECURITY
Stronger border security has come into the Coalition’s election fight just days after Anthony Albanese made an embarrassing gaffe around his party’s policies on the issue.
Just days after Mr Albanese was unable to provide a clear position on asylum seeker policy, Scott Morrison announced a $124 million project to strengthen Australia’s navy capabilities and border force protection, while taking aim at Labor’s home affairs policies.
Mr Morrison took aim at Labor’s 2008 abolishment of temporary protection visas, and said it was “disappointing” Anthony Albanese had not learned anything from his party’s past as he announced the government would buy two new border patrol boats.
“When I was the Shadow Minister for Immigration, we were dealing in this country with an even worse Border Protection crisis, … we were seeing 1200 people that we know who perished,” Mr Morrison said.
“And for two years, we worked to put in place a policy that we knew would not come overnight … It took 10 years.
“We set out very clearly that the way to fix this problem is to have that three strand cord of temporary protection of offshore process and turning back boats where it was safe to do so.”
Mr Morrison said the policy of boat turn backs had been controversial, but it kept people safe and allowed the closure of Manus Island.
“People said it couldn’t be done. It couldn’t be done safely. But we had done the work to ensure we knew how we could do it,” he said.
Mr Morrison said it was “disappointing” that Mr Albanese’s gaffe regarding border protection had caused so much confusion.
Defence Peter Dutton MP said the acquisition would build navy capability.
The two boats are scheduled to be delivered by late 2023.
MORRISON RULES OUT TAX HIKES, ATTACKS LABOR
The Prime Minister has ruled out any future tax hikes while hitting out at Labor’s economic policies, accusing them of going after Australians’ money.
Speaking in response to a question about interest rate hikes and the flow on effect to groceries and other essentials, Scott Morrison said his government’s economic policies would keep downward pressure on prices.
The alternative, he offered, was higher taxes – a move he says Labor is gunning for.
“(Our economic policies are designed to) put downward pressure on interest rates, which puts downward pressure on inflation, and that’s what our economic policies are designed to achieve,” Mr Morrison said.
“We … (won’t) put taxes up, and I know the Labor Party wants to abolish the speed limit on taxes, it’s a 23.9 per cent speed limit on taxes that I put in as Treasurer … it gives Australians the guarantee the economy won’t take more out of their pockets than they can afford.
“And it ensures people can see more of what they earn … I don’t understand why the Labor Party want to take that speed limit off.
“When they can’t manage money, they come after yours with higher taxes.”
RUSTON STOPS SHORT OF RULING OUT MEDICARE CUTS
Anne Ruston has stopped short of categorically ruling out future Medicare cuts, setting the stage for a Labor campaign on health.
The minister tapped to replace Greg Hunt was grilled on Monday morning about previous claims that Medicare was “not sustainable”.
But asked if she could rule out any cuts, Ms Ruston seemed less certain.
“Are you cutting Medicare because history tells us you seem to be having a little each way on that one?” Today host Karl Stefanovic asked.
“First and foremost, this government … actually guaranteed Medicare and Medicare is something that’s a really important part of the Australian landscape,” she responded.
“Universal healthcare is something that is an absolute underpinning policy of this government.”
But the answer did not satisfy Mr Stefanovic, who continued: “OK. I’m not sure that you answered it. Are you cutting Medicare or categorically no cuts to Medicare?”
“No, we are … we are the party that guaranteed Medicare,” Ms Ruston added.
In an earlier interview with ABC’s AM, host Sabra Lane also took the minister to task on the issue, asking three times before being told the government had “absolutely guaranteed Medicare”.
During a debate on the GP co-payment, floated in Joe Hockey’s cut-heavy 2014 budget, Ms Ruston said the scheme in its current form was not sustainable and “the credit card is maxed out”.
Speaking about GP co-payments to the Senate in 2015, she said Medicare “in its current form is not sustainable into the future without some change being made”.
“We originally put on the table this co-payment as a method by which we could try and seek to make Medicare more sustainable,” she said.
Asked about the comments on Monday, Ms Ruston said she believed it was now sustainable.
“It’s through this strong economic management, it didn’t happen by accident but through strong economic management that we are able to guarantee those essential services and no service is more essential than healthcare,” she said.
LABOR DOUBLES DOWN ON CASHLESS DEBIT CARD STRATEGY
Labor doubled down on its tactic to distribute incorrect information to pensioners about cashless debit cards, with Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers insisting it was a key issue.
Mr Albanese handballed the question about whether the information would be pulled from the campaign to Mr Chalmers who said it wouldn’t be.
“Wherever you go in Australia, pensioners are worried about Scott Morrison and Anne Ruston,” he said.
“We make absolutely no apology whatsoever for standing up for the pensions of this country who are petrified that this cashless debit card will be extended to them.”
News Corp on Monday revealed Labor was falsely telling pensioners in marginal seats like Longman, Lilley and Flinders that the government would control their spending by putting them on cashless debit cards.
The tactic comes despite the Coalition having repeatedly ruled this out and a Queensland state Labor MP having to apologise in parliament earlier this year for making a similar claim.
“There are comments on the record from Scott Morrison, from Anne Ruston talking about expanding the scheme, talking about it being a national platform,” Mr Chalmers said.
“There’s a very clear difference here and people on pensions right around Australia need to understand it.
“The prime minister and his now hand-picked health minister have been given multiple opportunities in recent times to rule out this expansion and if they do it now in the teeth of an election, you know that you can’t believe them.”
Mr Chalmers said Labor would “not be stepping back from raising this important issue on behalf of the pensioners”.
LNP Longman MP Terry Young earlier claimed the tactic was “despicable” and “an outright lie”.
LABOR LEADER PLUNGES IN LATEST POLLS
Mr Albanese’s trainwreck first week of the campaign has hurt him in the latest polling with voter support plunging from 38 to 34 per cent.
Primary support for the Coalition rose from 34 to 35 per cent and Scott Morrison made gains on his personal approval – leading Mr Albanese as preferred PM by 38 to 30 per cent, according to the Resolve Strategic survey.
ALBO GETS ROCK STAR TREATMENT AT BLUESFEST BEFORE STAGE FAIL
A rock star welcome greeted Anthony Albanese as he arrived at Bluesfest on Easter Sunday, making good on his vow to “shake off” a rough first week of election campaigning.
Mr Albanese visited the Byron Bay music festival on Sunday afternoon and went straight to one of the stages, eager to catch a glimpse of Australian rock band The Waifs.
Clearly in his element, Mr Albanese, who was also joined by his partner Jodie Haydon, was grinning and shaking hands with festivalgoers.
The crowd started chanting “Albo, Albo, Albo,” and when asked what he thought of their cheers, Mr Albanese said “there’s a bit of momentum we have on this campaign”.
It later came undone when he took to the stage to introduce Jimmy Barnes and faced an avalanche of boos from the crowd.
Before arriving at the festival Mr Albanese went to the All Souls’ Anglican Church in Bangalow, where he met with Reverend Rosemary Wynter to discuss the recovery from the recent floods.
Ms Wynter co-ordinated the collection of supplies, including clothes and blankets, for flood victims in the wake of the devastating disaster that hit regional NSW twice within a few weeks.
MORRISON’S PLEDGE TO HELP FIRST HOME BUYERS
First home buyers will be able to purchase more expensive houses with a five per cent deposit as the federal government expands its guarantee scheme to combat soaring prices.
From July 1, the price caps on new and existing homes which can be purchased with government assistance will rise nationwide, including from $700,000 to $800,000 in Melbourne and from $800,000 to $900,000 in Sydney.
There are 50,000 places available in the scheme, including 35,000 for first home buyers who can avoid the upfront expense of lenders’ mortgage insurance when the government guarantees up to 15 per cent of their loans.
Scott Morrison said increasing the price caps meant “even more Australians can get into a home sooner”.
“Saving to buy a house has always been hard work and we know as prices have increased it’s been getting harder,” the Prime Minister said.
Read the full story here.
ALBO FORCED TO CLARIFY BOATS POLICY
Earlier in the day, Mr Albanese was forced to clarify Labor’s boats policy after he accidentally reversed the party’s stance on temporary protection visas.
Labor has long been against the Coalition’s refusal to grant permanent protection to refugees who arrived by boat before Operation Sovereign Borders began in 2013, but on Sunday Mr Albanese said the opposite.
After an Easter Sunday mass in Cairns in far north Queensland, the Labor leader was asked if he supported both the operation and “the retention of temporary protection visas (TPVs),” to which he replied: “yes”.
Less than 10 minutes later, Mr Albanese realised the error and reappeared before the travelling media pack to correct his gaffe.
“Earlier on I heard half the question, and didn’t hear all of it,” he said.
“Labor’s policy is to support Operation Sovereign Borders, we support offshore processing, we support resettlement to third countries, we don’t support temporary protection visas.”
It’s the second poorly-worded response Mr Albanese has delivered on border protection in less than a week, having had to clarify comments he made on Thursday which suggested Labor would not need offshore processing.
“Turning boats back means that you don’t need offshore detention,” Mr Albanese said during a visit to the Hunter in NSW.
A few hours later he fronted cameras again to pledge Labor’s ongoing support for offshore detention, noting it was less likely to be used if boat turnbacks were successful.
Mr Morrison said he was not going to speak to Mr Albanese’s “further confusion” on borders, but argued TPVs were an important element of the policy.
“There have always been three elements,” he said.
“Turning boats back under Operation Sovereign Borders and the command system we put around that … offshore processing, ensuring that people are not having the opportunity to be able to come and settle in Australia, and, thirdly, temporary protection visas that deny access to permanent residency.”
Mr Morrison said TPVs were a part of the “three strand cord,” which was “not easily broken”.
“I do know that the Labor Party have never believed in it, they have never supported it, they have never understood it and that’s why they can’t be trusted to keep it,” he said.
Asked to clarify Labor’s position on Operation Sovereign Borders in the wake of Mr Albanese’s comments about offshore processing, a campaign spokeswoman said the party supported it.
“Labor supports Operation Sovereign Borders – offshore processing, regional resettlement, and boat turn-backs where safe to do so, but for years Labor has warned that Mr Morrison has put border protection on ‘set and forget’ mode,” she said.
“Labor introduced offshore processing, when Anthony Albanese was Deputy Prime Minister and Labor will retain it.”
The spokeswoman said Labor’s position was to maintain the turnback operation, while “stopping the Liberals’ waste” of taxpayer dollars by converting temporary visas to permanent ones.
“As Labor has explained for years, millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money is being wasted forcing people who arrived under Liberal and Labor Governments before Operation Sovereign Borders to constantly reapply for temporary protection,” she said.
The spokeswoman said offshore detention was only required when turn-backs failed, and said Liberal attacks on Mr Albanese’s position on these issues were a “diversion from Scott Morrison’s cuts to border protection”.
“Let’s be clear – if you attempt to come to Australia by boat, you will not make it,” she said.
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