Australia's detention policy not racist: Shorten

The opposition leader has dismissed claims Australia is racist and Islamaphobic for locking up asylum seekers in offshore detention camps

Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten at press conference as part of the 2016 election campaign Source: AAP

Bill Shorten has rejected criticism that Australia is racist and Islamaphobic for locking-up asylum seekers in offshore detention camps.

The opposition leader reiterated Labor would prioritise finding other countries to take people detained on Nauru and Manus Island if it wins government, while responding to a question from a Brisbane university student talkback caller.

"We're not racist and we're not Islamaphobes," Mr Shorten told ABC Radio on Wednesday.