Latham pushes tough border line

Less than a fortnight before the crucial ALP national conference, Opposition Leader Mark Latham has gone on the offensive on border protection, promising to increase national security and be tougher on those seeking to bring asylum seekers into Australia.

The border-protection issue, credited with having sunk former opposition leader Kim Beazley in the 2001 poll, still bitterly divides the Labor Party. But on his first major tour of Queensland, Mr Latham has signalled he will not allow Prime Minister John Howard to use the issue against the ALP.

"I think we can be stronger on border protection," he said.

"Why is it, with our coastline of nearly 37,000 kilometres, we haven't got a coastguard?"

He attacked the Howard Government for sending the Minasa Bone boat and four crew members back to Indonesia in November.

"They sent that boat back so they could come back (to Australia) again and again and again. Why don't we arrest the people smugglers and throw them in jail?" he asked.

The issue of border protection is sure to inflame passions at the national conference in Sydney when the party's border policy is introduced by ALP immigration spokesman Stephen Smith on January 30. New ALP national president Carmen Lawrence and other supporters of Labor for Refugees remain opposed to current ALP policy.

Mr Latham is seeking to position Labor on the same ground as the Prime Minister, while also promising more compassion to those who make it through an increased security net. Subject to health and security checks, children, and an adult family member, should be living supervised in the community, he said.

A national coastguard, with vessels stationed at Cairns, Darwin and Broome, would be a key plank in the security upgrade. Yesterday Mr Latham also said he would aim to double the number of coastguard volunteers to 8000 and involve them in the detection of gun-runners, drug-runners and people smugglers.

"We see this as a very important partnership between government and community volunteers to make Australia's coastline as absolutely safe as possible," he said.

But Cairns Coastguard commander Brad Duck, while welcoming a promise of extra funding, said the detection work was already being done.

"But we don't guard the coast: we are a rescue organisation. You couldn't ask volunteers to be police people - we're not going out there with guns and whistles."

Mr Latham also continued to reject any Australian involvement in the United States' missile defence, claiming domestic security arrangements were reckless and inadequate.

"In terms of winning the war on terror, there are far bigger priorities, most notably regional airport security. I've been to regional airports in my time as Labor leader where you've got 100,000 passengers going through and no screening devices," he said.