No more border changes: Labor

Labor will make no further changes to border protection other than the medivac law, Anthony Albanese says.

Anthony Albanese. Picture: Kym Smith

Labor will make no further changes to border protection other than the medivac law, opposition frontbencher Anthony Albanese says.

Scott Morrison has used the week in parliament to hammer Labor’s backing of the medical transfer bill, as The Australian reports a loophole in the law could see refugees come to Australia automatically from Nauru.

When asked today if border protection and offshore processing would be further diluted by a Shorten government, Mr Albanese ruled out any major changes except for closer co-operation with the United Nations to resettle refugees.

.@ljayes: Will there be further changes by Labor on border security? @AlboMP: No. Our position is very clear. It has been adopted by the ALP National Conference.

MORE: https://t.co/MzX40foVJy #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/di2JtlvbSn

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 14, 2019

“No, no. Our position is very clear,” he told Sky News.

“These are positions that have been unanimously adopted by the ALP national conference, it’s not just the caucus. We’ve been through an extensive process of determining our policy.

“Yes we’ll be more supportive of regional processing than the current government is, and we will work with the UNHCR. But in terms of the border protection framework, it will remain in place.”

Mr Albanese also accused of doing more to restart the people-smuggling trade by reopening the Christmas Island detention centre.

“What we know from Indonesia is the people smugglers and the Indonesian media paid no attention at all to the (medivac) changes earlier this week,” he claimed to Sky News.

“What they did pay attention to was the government’s decision to re-open Christmas Island.”