Australia's immigration minister defends calling asylum-seekers 'illegals' "This is an area where language is bullets: it is really important that we are careful about what language we use and that we depoliticise this area of policy," shadow immigration spokesman Richard Marles said. The change recalls the rhetoric of the conservative government led by Prime Minister John Howard from 1996 until 2007. In a 2001 election speech Mr Howard famously said: "We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come." Under Labor Governments of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard the language was softened to "irregular maritime arrival"; those in detention centres were referred to as "clients." The Coalition won government last month on a platform strongly evoking the Howard era that included a commitment to stem the flow of asylum seekers coming to Australia by boat - or "stop the boats" - which had increased dramatically since Labor gained power. The plan, "Operation Sovereign Borders," is led by a three-star general and includes the controversial practice of naval vessels turning boats back to their place of origin. Mr Morrison's directive emerged yesterday in an email obtained by Fairfax Media which reportedly said: "The department (of Immigration and Border Protection) has received correspondence from the minister clarifying his expectations about the department's use of terminology. Accordingly we as [sic] that our service providers also adhere to the... instructions. Australia's detention centres have been run by British multinational Serco since mid-2009.