By political reporter Eliza Borrello - Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has confirmed he wants the Labor Party to change its asylum seeker policy and support turning back boats. The move is expected to be met with fierce opposition by members of the ALP's left faction at its national conference this weekend, but Mr Shorten said a turn-backs policy was needed to save lives. "Labor wants to defeat the people smugglers and we want to prevent drownings at sea," he told 7.30. "Therefore one of the options which we believe has to be on the table, if we're given the privilege of forming government, has to be the option to turn back boats."
News of the move was revealed in an opinion piece Labor's immigration spokesman Richard Marles wrote for the Herald Sun newspaper.
"Despite best intentions, a terrible loss of life took place on Labor's watch," he wrote.
"We did not get it right then but we are very clear now about making sure we don't repeat those mistakes.
"Offshore processing and regional resettlement together with the Coalition's policy of turn-backs is what actually stopped the boats.
"I believe, provided it can be done safely, a future Labor government must have the option to undertake turn-backs."
Within minutes of quotes from Mr Marles' piece being published, former Labor MP Steve Gibbons criticised the stance on Twitter.
"The 'turn back the boats' policy will be driven by those gutless Western Suburbs MP's [sic] who let 'red-necks' determine Labor policy!" Mr Gibbons tweeted.
Mr Marles pre-emptively defended his position in the opinion piece.
"This is not about pandering to the politics of fear, it is about having a sensible, safe set of policies that will stop people from dying."
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