It is possible Shorten may backtrack on stopping refugees, that is my opinion based on the last sentence in this article and Shorten has pushed for asylum medical decisions to not include considerations of the applicant's character.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6473487/Asylum-seekers-convicted-murder-allowed-Australia-Bill-Shortens-soft-laws.html

Asylum seekers convicted of murder and rape could be allowed into Australia under Bill Shorten’s soft new laws

A softened border policy allowing asylum seekers into Australia even if they are rapists and murderers could become reality early next year.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten has pushed for asylum decisions to not include considerations of the applicant's character, it has been revealed.

In medical cases where a foreign national has to be sent to Australia to treatment, doctors could even make the final decision via Skype.

The government and the opposition are due to clash on what has been dubbed the 'medivac bill' when it passes through the lower house in February.

Seen in legal advice by The Daily Telegraph, the new push has come under fire from immigration minister David Coleman.

'Under Labor's law, a person who has been convicted of serious offences would have to come to Australia and there is nothing the minister could do to stop it,' he said.

'For the alternative prime minister to support this is staggering.'

For those asylum seekers on Nauru, two doctors' recommendation would be enough to force the Australian government to bring them over for medical treatment.

The policy would also apply to those who have been sent to Manus Island.

In that case, the immigration minister would have just 24 hours to approve moving the asylum seeker.

The only grounds under which the minister could fight the doctors' recommendations would be medically-based or if the person was a terror threat.

The changes, which would still be verifiable by a medical panel, were first proposed by independent MP Kerryn Phelps.

Speaking to ABC, Mr Shorten defended his party's policy change.

He said: 'Labor does not accept the corollary between discouraging the people-smuggling trade and keeping people in detention for five plus years. That's shameful.'

Let me be clear, this is a Trump like scare tactic not in any way related to the truth
As a Labor member/voter I know the damage past actions did
Too that just like the Liberals, we have in our ranks some who do not agree.
Labor will not DARE change any thing that restarts the boats
ScoMo however, by his miss use of this issue, and warning of boats restarting
Is inviting them to start on the day Labor wins the election
The Malaysian solution would have stopped the boats, for us and given positive out comes to all our near neighbors
Soon, the world must address overpopulation
And ECONOMIC refugees
Not because the right wants it but because most do too.

'Let me be clear, this is a Trump like scare tactic not in any way related to the truth'
yeah Belly just like Rudd's murderess decison was a Bush type scare. Face it Belly you beloved labour party have been hijacked by marxist pretending to be compassionate but in reality are totally blinded by ideology and hate of the West. Of course they love the benefits gained by hard working aussies.

You are in denial.

Belly - Shorten said "He said: 'Labor does not accept the corollary between discouraging the people-smuggling trade and keeping people in detention for five plus years. That's shameful.'"

If he does not like putting people in detention who arrive here what will he do with them?
Release them into the communities.

Your biggest mistake is also to believe him, remember politicians will promise the world to get elected, then give reasons why they can't deliver once they are in power.

Gillard said “There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead”,

I'm not sure why the medical treatment available on Nauru is good enough for the local people - who manage without being sent to Australia - but is not good enough for illegal aliens who should not be there on the first place.

Of course Shorten will start the boats again; the Liberal's self-destruction will see to that. Of course, if by some miracle the Liberals were returned next year, we can no longer be sure that they won't do the same thing.

Looks like there is a bigger problem than boats. The last sentence is of concern. Suggest follow the link for whole story.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-10/chinese-nationals-claiming-refugee-asylum-surges-311-per-cent/10590478

Chinese tourists and international students help drive asylum claims up 311 per cent

The number of Chinese nationals applying for refugee asylum in Australia has risen by 311 per cent in just one year, according to figures from the Department of Home Affairs.

Onshore protection visa applications from those who arrived by plane from the People's Republic of China jumped from 2,269 in 2016-17 to 9,315 in 2017-18, the data reveals.

Despite the surge in claims, Chinese nationals had one of the lowest success rates for protection visas, with the Department only recognising 10 per cent of those claims as being genuine.

The total number of onshore asylum claims for all nationalities soared 225 per cent from 8,587 in 2014-15 to 27,931 in 2017-18 with Chinese nationals making up a third of all claims over that period.

Associate professor of law at Murdoch University Mary Anne Kenny said an obvious reason for the spike in questionable protection claims was the bridging visas you could obtain while awaiting a decision.

"Once you are in the country, either as a tourist or a student, if you then apply for a protection visa, you are eligible for a bridging visa," she told the ABC.

"Depending on the type, [it] may give you the right to work and can take some time [to process] depending on how long it takes the department to process the application.

"It doesn't cost very much to make an application and you can then extend your period of stay here, because you will be on the bridging visa while your application is [being] determined."

In August 2018, there were 176,000 people on bridging visas in Australia — a massive jump from 40,000 at the same time last year.