Labor leader Bill Shorten will face pressure to change the party's asylum seeker policy at the coming ALP national conference.
Refugee advocates and unions plan to rally in Melbourne on July 25 in support of a motion expected to be put to the conference calling for an end to offshore processing and mandatory detention.
The proposed party platform, drafted for debate before the three-day conference, allows a future Labor government to continue with offshore detention facilities on Nauru and Manus Island and mandatory detention of asylum seekers.
The Labor for Refugees group has encouraged its members to advocate the principles of the ACTU's policy, passed at its national congress in May.
The policy not only seeks the closure of the two offshore facilities, but argues the government should end discrimination in the processing of applications for asylum based on people's mode of arrival.
Temporary protection visas should be abolished and Australia's refugee intake should be raised to equivalent levels of other industrialised countries.
Boat turnbacks should be scrapped and asylum seekers should be given greater access to work rights.
Labor for Refugees supporter, West Australian senator Sue Lines, told AAP the party was still drafting its asylum seeker policy for the 2016 federal election.
"It's an emotional issue that people hold very strong opinions on and I'm looking forward to speaking to people on it in the coming weeks," she said.
"What I want Labor to take to the election is a policy that is fair and just and treats asylum seekers with dignity, and sees people's claims processed quickly."
Share
