Dear Mr Shorten,

I don’t actually know why I afford you the respect of addressing you by title, since you clearly have no respect for the Australian people. You demonstrably have no respect for humanity.

Have you lost your mind?

Do you really think that turning back the boats saves lives? Are you so ridiculously naive that you can’t see what Abbott is doing? I understand that you’re nervous about Abbott leveraging popularity off your own dull and uncharismatic public persona. But why would you betray your party and the Australians who were hanging onto the last hope that at least the ALP would not be sending desperate people back to certain death for the sake of appeasing the lowest common denominator?

Where is your spine, Mr Shorten?

Yes, I afforded you once against a smidgen of respect that you clearly don’t deserve. But I will not lower myself to your own level of weakness and gutter politics by publicly expressing just how I feel about your monstrous anti-humanitarian backflip.

Let’s just look at the ALP principles.

“Labor is for being a good global citizen”.

Sure. Sure it is, Mr Shorten. Maybe when you weren’t in charge.

Being a good global citizen does not mean renouncing your international obligations in favour of a petty, vindictive and nasty war with Abbott on who can be the cruelest to the most vulnerable people in the international community.

“Labor has a proud tradition of standing up for the freedom and rights of others in the world.”

Has? It had. Before you were in charge, Mr Shorten. Or should I say before your predecessor, Kevin Rudd tried to out-Abbott Abbott and adopt the harshest of asylum seeker policies in an attempt to win the unlosable election in 2013.

Have you forgotten just how that turned out, Mr Shorten?

Or perhaps you blame the messy and completely undignified leadership spill for Labor’s destruction.

The stench of your involvement in that sordid affair tainted your reputation long before you showed yourself to be the lily-livered weakling of a leader that you have so obviously revealed yourself to be. Not only were you involved, but you lied about your involvement.

Lied.

Do you think that because the Australian public are mocking Abbott for his lies that it’s acceptable for you to act without integrity? For all those loudly screaming at the damage Abbott is doing to Australia’s international reputation, there are thousands more quietly seething.

There is one thing the ALP absolutely is to blame for. Abbott being Prime Minister.

And now your pitiful and completely unbelievable excuse for adopting Abbott’s vile boat turnback policy is that you’re motivated to see fair treatment of refugees.

“All of the people in this debate, in the Labor party, are motivated by wanting to see fair treatment of refugees.”

Some of the people are, Mr Shorten. But not you. The ALP members who have not discarded their morals, sense of justice and compassion.

“I want to see us do our fair share to help refugees and help the challenges people face when displaced from their own countries.”

What nonsense you speak. You do not even believe your own words.

“But I also think we have an obligation to make sure that people are safe.”

Because turning back boats makes people safe? All it does, Mr Shorten, is stop those desperate people landing on Australian shores or drowning in Australian waters. But you don’t care what happens to them elsewhere, do you, Mr Shorten. As long as you can pretend to be tough. Pretend. Even Abbott and Dutton don’t believe you.

I understand the ALP National Conference is this weekend. I sincerely hope your colleagues remind you of your position. I hope the ALP can stand up for its traditional principles of fairness.

I hope you finally show strength, courage and integrity, Mr Shorten, and resign.

Sincerely,

Eva Cripps