2019-02-20
“Just when you begin to hope that the Labor Party was starting to find a backbone on refugees, Bill Shorten has gone to water,” said Australian Greens Leader, Dr Richard Di Natale.
“Despite his Deputy saying the Government’s policy to transfer sick patients to Christmas island for treatment was ‘difficult to understand’ and his Immigration spokesperson saying the reopening the centre was ‘silly’, Bill Shorten thinks it’s ‘fine’.
“Buying into Scott Morrison’s propaganda that there is any need to reopen Christmas Island, or that it has the required medical facilities, is a failure of leadership.
“All it took was the prospect of an election campaign fought on refugees for Bill Shorten to get spooked and start aligning himself with the Liberal Government on the issue once again.
“A government that is determined to shun the will of the parliament and refuse to bring sick people here for treatment, deserves a strong opposition – not a benign collaborator.