Fed: Immigration policy opponents should be axed - Edwards
CANBERRA, Dec 5 AAP - Any Labor MP who refused to support the party's immigration policyshould be axed from the ALP, a Labor backbencher said today.
Labor caucus is today expected to vote on the party's proposed asylum seeker policy.
A split remains in the party over key aspects of the plan, including the retentionof mandatory detention and the continued excision of Christmas Island from the migrationzone, meaning asylum seekers would be denied appeal rights they would receive on the mainland.
Reports have surfaced that some members opposed to the proposed policy will refuseto sell it if it is endorsed by caucus.
Labor backbencher Graham Edwards said if that was the case they should leave the party.
"One of the challenges as a member of the ALP is to get behind a collective decisionthat caucus makes and if people feel that they can't do that, well perhaps they shouldbe in another party," he said.
Mr Edwards said the results of today's vote was not a test of Opposition Leader SimonCrean's leadership but an example of one of the party's broadest and healthiest debates.
"At the end of that exhaustive process will be very good policy which the ALP can goout and sell and ALP policy which will be fair and compassionate," he said.
Labor frontbencher Kevin Rudd said caucus would have to make a decision on action ifsome members refused to support the policy.
"That's a matter for the caucus to determine and the response of individual caucusmembers after that," he said.
"All I know is (opposition immigration spokeswoman) Julia Gillard has done a fantasticjob in a very difficult area of policy.
"No-one pretends that this is an easy question, it's a complex question, it's a difficultquestion."
Opposition environment spokesman Kelvin Thomson said the majority of caucus would supportthe policy.
"I think it's a responsible but compassionate policy," he said.
"My impression is that my colleagues support it but that's a question for the caucus debate.
"When the decision is made I would expect that all the members of caucus would support it."
AAP sm/sw/mg/sb
KEYWORD: BOAT LABOR
