Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has acknowledged that both he and the Labor Party have fundamentally changed their approach to border protection, saying years of governing and changing public expectations have convinced him that Australians expect governments to maintain firm control over the nation’s borders.

The comments, made during ABC’s Kitchen Cabinet with Annabel Crabb, represent one of Albanese’s clearest reflections on an issue that once divided the Labor Party and placed him at odds with colleagues who argued for adopting tougher border protection policies.

More than a decade ago, Albanese was one of the most prominent opponents of Labor embracing the Coalition’s policy of turning back asylum seeker boats intercepted at sea. At the 2015 Australian Labor Party National Conference, he led a frontbench rebellion against then opposition leader Bill Shorten’s proposal to formally support boat turnbacks, describing the policy at the time as “a red line we cannot cross”.

Today, however, the Prime Minister says experience has changed his perspective.

“You learn, and you can change your position,” Albanese said when reflecting on the issue.

“On border protection, for example, we said that we would keep the mechanisms in place and indeed we’ve expanded a range of them, because people feel like they have to be in control of their borders.

“If you want to run a migration system that’s respectful of the contribution that migrants make, it has to be orderly.”

The remarks illustrate how significantly Labor’s immigration policy has evolved over the past decade.

Historically, border protection was one of the party’s most divisive internal issues. While Labor governments under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard introduced several measures aimed at discouraging dangerous maritime arrivals, debate continued over offshore processing, boat turnbacks and Australia’s humanitarian obligations.

The issue reached its peak during the Abbott Government years, when Operation Sovereign Borders became a defining feature of Australia’s immigration policy. Introduced in 2013, the military-led operation combined offshore processing, maritime interceptions and the turning back of boats where considered safe under government policy. Supporters argued the strategy significantly reduced deaths at sea by discouraging people smuggling operations, while critics raised concerns about asylum seekers’ rights and Australia’s international obligations.

Labor eventually accepted many of those border protection mechanisms after years of political debate.

Since winning government in 2022, Albanese’s administration has retained Australia’s core border protection framework rather than dismantling it.

The government has continued offshore processing arrangements, maintained maritime enforcement operations and introduced additional legislation responding to several High Court rulings affecting immigration detention.

One of the most significant developments came in late 2023, when the High Court ruled that indefinite immigration detention was unlawful in certain circumstances. The decision resulted in the release of a number of immigration detainees into the community.

In response, the Albanese Government rapidly introduced emergency legislation imposing strict visa conditions, electronic monitoring requirements and curfews on affected individuals while creating new preventative detention mechanisms for those assessed as posing an unacceptable risk to the community. Those measures received bipartisan parliamentary support after intense political debate.

Albanese used the Kitchen Cabinet interview to argue that effective border management and support for immigration are not contradictory.

Instead, he suggested public confidence in migration depends upon Australians believing governments are capable of maintaining an orderly system.

“If you want to run a migration system that’s respectful of the contribution migrants make, it has to be orderly,” he said.

The Prime Minister also reflected on the broader political environment that has shaped attitudes towards immigration and social cohesion.

He pointed to years of global disruption—including the global financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East—as contributing to public frustration and political polarisation.

Albanese argued that social media algorithms have amplified those divisions by rewarding increasingly extreme viewpoints.

“Turn the temperature down,” he urged when discussing Australia’s political debate.

The timing of the interview is politically significant.

It comes immediately before Labor’s national conference, where immigration, multiculturalism and social cohesion are expected to feature prominently among broader discussions about the government’s policy agenda.

It also coincides with renewed attention on One Nation after party leader Pauline Hanson generated controversy during a visit to the United Kingdom and subsequent interviews discussing immigration, multiculturalism and Australia’s former White Australia policy.

Hanson later stated she was not advocating for the return of the White Australia policy, saying her comments had been misunderstood. Nevertheless, the episode reignited debate over immigration and assimilation, with senior Labor figures criticising her remarks while reaffirming bipartisan support for deporting people who remain in Australia unlawfully.

The broader political landscape has also shifted considerably since Albanese opposed boat turnbacks more than a decade ago.

Border protection has become one of the few areas where Australia’s two major parties now share substantial policy common ground.

Although Labor and the Coalition continue to disagree on migration levels, visa programs and refugee processing arrangements, both support strong maritime border enforcement and efforts to disrupt people-smuggling operations.

That bipartisan consensus reflects years of political evolution following intense public debate over irregular maritime arrivals during the 2000s and early 2010s.

Immigration nevertheless remains one of the country’s most politically sensitive issues.

Australia continues to rely heavily on skilled migration to address workforce shortages and support economic growth, while simultaneously facing growing public concern over housing affordability, infrastructure capacity and the pace of population growth.

The Albanese Government has responded by adjusting migration settings, strengthening integrity measures within the visa system and signalling a gradual reduction in net overseas migration following the unusually high post-pandemic rebound.

Political analysts say maintaining public confidence in Australia’s migration system increasingly depends on convincing voters that immigration remains well managed, lawful and aligned with national interests.

Albanese’s latest comments suggest he believes strong border protection is an essential component of achieving that confidence rather than standing in opposition to Australia’s multicultural identity.

His willingness to publicly acknowledge changing his position is also notable in a political environment where leaders are often criticised for perceived inconsistency.

Rather than denying the shift, the Prime Minister openly accepted that governing had altered his understanding of public expectations and policy realities.

Whether voters view that evolution as evidence of pragmatic leadership or political repositioning is likely to become part of the broader debate as immigration continues to feature prominently in Australian politics.

With Labor preparing for its national conference and parties already positioning themselves ahead of future electoral contests, Albanese’s remarks underscore how border protection has transformed from one of Labor’s deepest internal divisions into an area where the Prime Minister now argues the party has “learned the lesson” from years of political experience.