In the early months of the Abbott government it was then-immigration minister Scott Morrison who deflected media questions about asylum seeker boat arrivals, using the catch-all excuse that he would not comment on "on-water" matters.
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Labor embraced that approach to transparency on Friday when questioned about a report that Operation Sovereign Borders had intercepted a second asylum seeker boat in less than a month. Asked whether the new government would follow the Coalition in refusing to talk about individual cases and "operational matters", Agriculture Minister Murray Watt's answer was yes, citing security reasons.
It would have disappointed anyone hoping for a change in direction under the Albanese government. There was something jarring about a Labor senator embracing a policy of withholding information, especially after the party spent years in opposition prising information out of Coalition governments, and lamenting their secrecy.
The tough stance Labor is striking in its first weeks of government is no surprise. It spent the election campaign batting away arguments from the Coalition that the major parties differed substantively on asylum seeker policies. Labor has stated its support for offshore processing and boat turn-backs. With the exception of temporary protection visas, it has adopted the Coalition's policies. Including, apparently, the secrecy on "operational matters".
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The Nadesalingam family's return home to Biloela on Friday was in part a reminder of Labor's difference from the Coalition on asylum seeker policies. But even in releasing the family into the community, the new government was adamant it was not abandoning its hardline border stance.
Human Rights Watch researcher Sophie McNeill says Mr Morrison's policy not to disclose information on individuals cases was clearly about escaping scrutiny and making it more difficult for human rights advocates to hold the government to account.
"We are hopeful that the new immigration minister will be much more transparent and will work closely with civil society on these important matters," she says.
The Coalition is casting about for lines of attack in its first weeks and months of opposition, and will eagerly seize on any sign that the new government's policies are encouraging more boat arrivals. It will be ready to move further to the right than Labor on the issue.
Labor wants to head off any such scenario, and to that end, it will furiously imitate the previous government on asylum seeker policy.