Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has stopped holding weekly press conferences on asylum seeker boat arrivals, instead issuing a written statement with no opportunity for journalists to ask questions.

Mr Morrison put an end to the practice of the Immigration Department announcing asylum seeker boat arrivals in real time, saying this amounted to a ''shipping news service for people smugglers''.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:Ben Rushton

Instead, he pledged to front weekly media briefings on the Coalition's progress in stopping asylum seeker boats. But he provided his last briefing for the year a week ago.

For the first time since late September, Mr Morrison did not appear before the media despite his office insisting he was not on leave. His spokesman would not say when or whether the briefings would resume, saying the government would have more to say on this in the new year.