Before 2007 election Rudd said he would also tow back the boats but changed the policy when he won. His version of No Carbon Tax etc
With two I think you will find warning letters were sent by Queensland unions and Peter Garratt sent a letter of waring to Rudd.
No one got a reply.
And Garrett was hung out to dry on it in a place without a postcard....
The asylum seeker / boat arrivals issue is the toughest frontline issue for the ALP because of the inherent division within the party over how to deal with it.
The Coalition have division but nowhere near the scale that the ALP has. There's really only a handful of 'wets' that exist - one of which will retire at the election.
Personally I can't stand the political debate from every shade because it has turned into base politics. I can't help but switch off completely. Good luck to Tony Burke as new Immigration Minister (for however long), but he too has fallen into the same political traps of the debate when he was Shadow Immigration Minister some years ago.
I will say that the review by Paris Aristotle and co was an excellent proposal by the Government and it revealed some pretty important information, however because the government and Gillard personally had lost all credibility on the debate before this, they and she just could not cut through and sell their plan with any kind of authority.
Having Rudd's key numbers man as Minister probably didn't help either and too Bowen's credit he quit after the funniest day in Australian politics earlier this year.