“It is a con by a desperate leader and this latest policy will be lucky to make it to the election let alone be implemented”, Dutton said. At the same time, it declared that Shorten “has not done enough to revise Labor’s policies”.

A DEBATE over Labor’s position on turning asylum seeker boats around at sea seems bound to dominate the party’s national conference this weekend.

While the 200-page draft platform commits Labor to supporting mandatory detention and offshore processing of asylum seekers, some argue these two policies should be dropped in favour of a less harsh community-based approach.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton attacked Shorten for his policy shift, accusing him of “playing word games”. It is known that 65 asylum seekers almost perished off Indonesia’s coast recently after being forcibly loaded into people smugglers’ boats to be taken away from Australia.

“I’m prepared to say: good on Bill”, Mr Abbott told ABC television on Thursday.

The deal, first uncovered by Fairfax Media, boosted Mr Shorten’s factional power but allegedly weakened the union’s industrial position in the workplace.

“Labor’s ambition is to see 50 per cent of our electricity energy mix generated by renewable energy by 2030″, he said.

Marles says Labor will be more engaged with the world in responding to the biggest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War, yet turn-backs are an act of unilateralism and the antithesis of global co-operation.

But a greater effect would be that it would jeopardise any prospect of Abbott supporting a free vote among Coalition MPs.

She predicted that the numbers would be “very tight” if Rainbow Labor backed a binding vote. However, Mr Shorten is expected to be less ambitious in his internal reform plans, settling for a trial of candidate selection “primaries” and making joining the party easier and cheaper.

“The Australian Labor Party must be congratulated for taking such strong leadership and recognising the enormous role that renewable energy can play in Australia’s future, both in terms of dealing with the challenge of climate change and creating economic opportunities”, said CEC Chief Executive Kane Thornton.

“I’ve learnt not to take too seriously Liberal Party propaganda”, he said.

“We have been working hard behind the scenes to deliver those important reforms”, he said, describing the changes as “undoubtedly the most significant reforms Labor has attempted in recent history”.

“I think that it is absolutely critical, critical that we always remember our need for compassion and to not appeal the darker side”.