Shorten risks being exposed as a 'leadership eunuch' if asylum seeker policy backflip fails: Oakes

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten risks being exposed as “a leadership eunuch” if his asylum seeker policy turnaround backfires at this weekend’s Labor conference, according to 9NEWS political editor Laurie Oakes.

Mr Shorten last night revealed a Labor government would head to the next election with an asylum seeker policy that effectively mirrored the Abbott government’s “turn back the boats” policy.

He is preparing for a fight when he takes his new asylum seeker policy to this weekend’s Labor conference, after years of condemning the Abbott government’s hard-line stance.

But Oakes said the gamble could go horribly wrong.

“He trying to neutralise an issue that’s a major electoral problem for Labor,” Oakes said.

“He’s trying to get asylum seeker boats off the agenda by admitting Labor made a mistake by not turning back boats to Indonesia under the Rudd and Gillard governments.

“There’s strong opposition in the ALP and Mr Shorten is gambling a lot on the conference and that he’ll emerge from the conference looking hairy chested.

“If delegates vote to close off the turn back option they’ll expose him as a leadership eunuch and effectively destroy him.”

While revealing his new position, Mr Shorten admitted Labor made errors on asylum seeker policy when in government and conceded the coalition's policy appeared to be working.

"I think it's clear that the combination of regional resettlement, with offshore processing, and also the turn back policy, is defeating people smugglers," he told ABC television on Wednesday evening.

"It's not easy, though, because it involves the admission, I think, that mistakes were made when Labor was last in government."