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December 1st, 2011 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda <!–
The Federal Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen, will take a proposal to the ALP conference this weekend to try to win support for the Government’s shelved asylum seeker swap deal with Malaysia. He’ll ask delegates to change the party’s platform to support an increase in the refugee intake to 20,000 per year, but only if they’ll back the offshore processing of asylum claims. The Labor left has already rubbished the idea.
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ELEANOR HALL: Gay marriage is just one of a number of contentious issues that are likely to fulfil the Prime Minister’s wish for robust debate at the ALP national conference which begins in Sydney tomorrow.
The Immigration Minister Chris Bowen flagged today that he will use the conference to try to resurrect support for the Government’s failed offshore processing and refugee swap deal with Malaysia.
As Naomi Woodley reports the left faction has already indicated that that will be hotly contested.
NAOMI WOODLEY: Chris Bowen says every ALP conference he’s been to has included a heated debate on asylum seeker policy and he’s expecting no different this weekend.
The arrival of another two boats off Christmas Island last night with a total of 213 people on board just illustrates the ongoing political problem it poses for Labor.
The Immigration Minister will be proposing a change to the party’s platform to boost Australia’s refugee intake from just under 14,000 to 20,000 per year.
CHRIS BOWEN: It’s an aspiration. It’s not – there’s no timeline that I’m putting on it. I just think it’s very important that the Labor platform which is after all a statement of broad objectives has that objective in it for the first time.
NAOMI WOODLEY: On the face of it, it’s a move that would be welcomed by the party’s left faction. It led an internal revolt against the Government’s proposed asylum seeker swap deal with Malaysia which was struck down by the High Court earlier this year.
Under that plan the Government proposed to take an extra 4,000 refugees.
Chris Bowen, who is from the right, says he’ll be telling the ALP conference that any increase in Australia’s refugee intake must be accompanied by a regional solution to tackle people smuggling and that must include offshore processing.
CHRIS BOWEN: That must be part of the mix. Offshore processing of course was part of our Malaysia arrangement. The (inaudible) is you need a suite of measures.
Just increasing the refugee intake is not a deterrent to getting on a boat to come to Australia. But if it’s part of a broader mix, which would include offshore processing as part of that, then that would be important.
NAOMI WOODLEY: The left faction convenor Senator Doug Cameron says Chris Bowen’s plan won’t win over his side of the party.
DOUG CAMERON: Yep let’s support an increase in the intake of refugees. Let’s continue to work against people smugglers with other countries. Let’s increase the number of refugees we take because countries like Malaysia are doing the heavy lifting on refugees.
But it should not be tied to some political ploy that says well we’ll do the right thing if you give in to the Malaysian solution.
NAOMI WOODLEY: He’s also not holding back against the right over the proposed changes to the ALP’s rules and structures.
The right faction is backing the Prime Minister’s call for an increase in party membership of 8,000, trials of community based, primary style pre-selections and efforts to build online engagement with supporters.
Doug Cameron says they don’t go far enough.
DOUG CAMERON: The proposal from the right for party reform is really what I’m describing as a Clayton’s reform proposal. It really has got no substance to it. It’s all form and no substance.
NAOMI WOODLEY: The former New South Wales premier Bob Carr is one of the authors of the 2010 party review which recommended significant changes to its structure.
He believes there will be widespread support at conference for the proposals. But Bob Carr says changes to party rules aren’t nearly as important as rediscovering the party’s “zeal for campaigning and crusading” on an issue like climate change.
BOB CARR: Changing structure, changing rules is fine. It makes a modest contribution.
But frankly the lift in the spirit of the party and the people who support the party outside its ranks – because we are campaigning on an issue of importance to them – is likely to count a whole lot more.
Again ethos is more important than rules and structure.
NAOMI WOODLEY: The Prime Minister is also asking conference to change the ALP’s policy which currently bans uranium exports to India because it’s not a signatory of the non-proliferation treaty.
The Victorian Senator and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is the latest frontbencher to declare he won’t back the Prime Minister’s position.
STEPHEN CONROY: My views on this are well known. Three years ago at national conference I opposed the expansion of the uranium mining industry and I lost that debate.
From the way the number seems to be lining up at conference I’m probably going to lose this one. But I’ll be voting as I’ve always voted on the nuclear issue.
NAOMI WOODLEY: The conference gets underway in Sydney tomorrow morning.
ELEANOR HALL: Naomi Woodley reporting.
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