Exclusive: Labor to investigate asylum seeker boat arrival as frontbench takes shape
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government will investigate the arrival of a Sri Lankan asylum seeker boat on the morning of the election after outraged senior Labor members questioned the timing of the announcement and the Liberal Party’s immediate mass text messages to voters.
Also sworn in on Monday were Penny Wong as Foreign Minister, Katy Gallagher as Finance Minister and Jim Chalmers as Treasurer.Labor is now edging towards the 76 seats it needs to form majority government, having won at least 74 seats, with a further eight seats too close to call. Albanese’s candidates are ahead in Bennelong, Deakin and Macnamara, and could potentially win Brisbane.
It has not yet been decided on what form the review should take – including whether it would be a formal investigation or a lower-level inquiry. Border Force put out a statement on Saturday confirming a boat had “been intercepted in a likely attempt to illegally enter Australia from Sri Lanka”. Before the election, Albanese said his starting point was that people would continue in their portfolios with few changes. But vacancies in the home affairs and environment portfolios, following the loss of Kristina Keneally and Terri Butler from parliament, have also complicated the picture.
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