The prime minister has accused the federal opposition of undermining Australia’s border protection regime, arguing its rhetoric is fuelling the illegal people smuggling trade.
On Friday, a boat carrying more than 20 men arrived near Beagle Bay, about 130 kilometres north of Broome in Western Australia.
The men are believed to have come from Pakistan and Bangladesh, and their arrival caught Australian authorities by surprise.
The men left the community in a bus on Saturday locals told the ABC, after apparently spending the night at a local school.
Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton quickly seized upon the incident, claiming the Albanese government was weakening Australia’s border protection arrangements, and had sent a message to people smugglers that Australia was open for business.
In a thinly veiled swipe at Mr Dutton on Friday night, the Commander of Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) spoke about the risk of public comments about Australia’s border protection regime.
“The mission of Operation Sovereign Borders remains the same today as it was when it was established in 2013: protect Australia’s borders, combat people smuggling in our region, and importantly, prevent people from risking their lives at sea,” Rear Admiral Brett Sonter said in a statement.
“Any alternate narrative will be exploited by criminal people smugglers to deceive potential irregular immigrants and convince them to risk their lives and travel to Australia by boat.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backed the OSB chief in a press conference in Newcastle on Saturday.
“Our position on Operation Sovereign Borders is very clear, and the people who attempt to arrive here by boat will not settle here.
“And I do say for people in public life to have a look at the very clear, strong and unequivocal message sent by Rear Admiral Sonter last night in the very clear statement that he made.
“We do not seek to politicise national security issues, and it is unfortunate when any politician seeks to do so.”
Despite that warning, the Liberal leader and former home affairs minister continued his attack of the government.
“There’s just no question about the fact that Operation Sovereign Borders is not supported by the Albanese government,” Mr Dutton told reporters in Melbourne.
“I ran Operation Sovereign Borders, I know exactly how these people smugglers work.
“They will react to a weak prime minister and to a weak minister, and if they see vulnerabilities they will exploit them.”
Mr Dutton said the government’s handling of last year’s High Court ruling, which found indefinite immigration detention was unlawful, had served to weaken Australia’s border defences.
149 people were released from immigration detention as a result, with the government facing questions about whether monitoring of them was adequate.
“The prime minister has made very clear that his government does not support Operation Sovereign Borders,” Mr Dutton said.
“He’ll tell you that he supports Operation Sovereign Borders, but that’s not the actions that he’s taken — taking away temporary protection visas, and the way in which the government has conducted itself in the migration program, allowing 149 criminals out onto the street people who are not citizens who have committed terrible crimes.
“The people smugglers see all of that, and they market it — they’re very savvy, they look at every word and every action of the government, and they package it up, they pitch it in a sales pitch to people who are willing to pay money.”