Shorten placates Left at our peril

ALP national conference will fall into line.

Bill Shorten’s latest pronouncement on illegal immigration demonstrates what will happen when he takes control next year (“ALP asylum vow: you can stay”, 11/12). His change in policy is not to clear the backlog remaining from the last Labor government’s policies, but to placate the extreme Left of his party who want unlimited access to this country. He fails to consider the best interests of Australia when he reduces barriers to entry, with potential security implications. Similar amnesties in other countries, for example, the US, have only encouraged more people to come.

Graham Pinn, Maroochydore, Qld

The recent confirmation that more than 10,000 undocumented and poorly documented asylum-seekers will be granted permanent residency by an incoming Shorten government is alarming. This reckless policy is a clear signal that emotion will rule over wisdom when it comes to safeguarding our borders and retaining the present government’s successful strategies in this area. As Prime Minister Morrison has stated, Labor’s heart is not in this policy and Australians can expect people-smuggling boats to resume their evil trade upon a change of government. Europe has seen the disastrous consequences of excessive, unplanned migration and Australia must not follow a similar path. Many asylum-seekers are in reality economic refugees or they would have alighted at safe ports along their route to Australia.

Peter Curtis, Werribee South, Vic

Those who are getting a little excited about what Labor’s national conference will or won’t come up with this weekend shouldn’t worry too much. All those in attendance can already smell the roses around the Lodge. They will not do or say anything that might disrupt their ambitions.

Shorten will get what he wants; the mob, regardless of their feelings, will toe the line. The disagreements will come once Shorten has his butt in the PM’s office. This is when the real agenda becomes apparent.

John George, Terrigal, NSW

It’s impossible to believe what Tanya Plibersek said on the ABC’s Q&A on Monday: “We should be bringing refugees by Qantas jet to put people smugglers out of business.” Can you imagine that going out into the global illegal immigrant ether, with tens of thousands queuing up in Indonesia or wherever? Labor is coming perilously close to losing what, up until now, was thought to be an unlosable election.

Jim Ball, Narrabeen, NSW

What’s the betting that Tanya Plibersek and Penny Wong will go missing at the ALP national conference when the vote is taken on Labor’s asylum-seeker policy (“Plibersek does an about-face to shore up Shorten”, 11/12)?

Riley Brown, Bondi Beach, NSW

Why wouldn’t the ALP offer more than 10,000 asylum-seekers citizenship? After all, it was the ALP who invited them here in the first place.

Frank Pulsford, Aspley, Qld

Well done, Mr Shorten, you have just laid out the welcome mat for the people-smugglers. What will you do next to undermine the sovereignty and border controls of Australia?

Tony Young, Blackbutt, Qld

I can only assume Bill Shorten reckons it is OK for Aussie cricketers to cheat by using sandpaper to sabotage the ball and gain advantage. He clearly thinks it is OK to lie, cheat, bribe officials, pay criminals to get you into Australia illegally, so cheating at cricket must be OK, too.

Oh, it’s also an easy way to clean up a mess your mob created in the first place, isn’t it?

Don Smith, Noosa, Qld

So the Labor Left suddenly, after all this time, is in active support of the Coalition’s boat turnback policies? I’m uneasily reminded of Peter Garrett’s (reported) unwisely honest gaffe before the 2007 Rudd-slide at a similar pre-election stage: that Labor would simply change all their policies once they got into power.

Tim Fatchen, Mt Barker, SA

Pull the other one, Albo. We all know that if Labor wins the election, we might as well paint all our naval vessels yellow; they’ll be back on the job, acting as a taxi service for the people smugglers.

Burt Bosma, Surrey Hills, Vic

The people smugglers have won.

Neville Wright, Kilcunda, Vic