Immigration minister was responding to claims Australian officials paid money to crew of intercepted asylum-seeker boat to return to Indonesia

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The Abbott government has invoked its “on-water matters” secrecy rule to defend not comprehensively answering claims that Australian officials paid money to the crew of an intercepted asylum-seeker boat to return to Indonesia.



The claims were aired in reports by Radio New Zealand and Fairfax Media based on comments from passengers who were onboard a boat that was stopped by Australian navy and customs officials in May.

Nazmul Hassan from Bangladesh told Radio New Zealand the officials paid at least $A7,200 to the captain and crew for each passenger.

Hidayat, who is the police chief on the Indonesian island of Rote where the crew members are now detained, told Fairfax Media the six crew members said they had been given $US5,000 each by Australian officials.

“I saw the money, the $5,000 was in $100 bank notes,” he said. The crew had a total of $30,000 wrapped in six black plastic bags, Hidayat told Fairfax.



Guardian Australia has been unable to independently verify the claims.

The immigration minister Peter Dutton was asked directly at a media conference on Tuesday whether officials had “recently” paid the crew and captain of a boat carrying asylum seekers to take them from Australia. He replied: “No.”

But when asked the broader follow-up question, “Has Australia ever done that?”, Dutton said: “It’s been a longstanding policy of the government not to comment on on-water matters.”



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Dutton’s office would not elaborate on the matter after the Fairfax Media story was published on Wednesday, but pointed to the previous denial.

A spokesman for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection said the government “does not comment on or disclose operational details where this would prejudice the outcome of current or future operations”.

Labor’s immigration spokesman, Richard Marles, called on the government to be upfront.

“We remain deeply concerned that the actions of the government are occurring under a shroud of secrecy when it comes to Operation Sovereign Borders,” he said.

“I think it’s important there be clarity on this issue.”

The Greens are planning to ask the government to clear up the matter through questions on notice as part of the budget estimates process. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called for a thorough investigation, saying it was not good enough for the government to engage in “secrecy and cover-up”.

“The government must give a full account of what has occurred here,” she said.

“If these claims prove to be correct then the Australian government is directly financing crews on asylum seeker boats not to come to Australia. If true, this would be simply unprecedented and totally unacceptable. Minister Dutton must come clean on whether this incident occurred and who authorised it.”

The prominent refugee lawyer David Manne said the claims, if true, raised concerns about Australia’s compliance with its obligations under the refugee convention. He said such actions could also undermine the prospects for cooperation among countries in the region.

“Whether an on-water or on-land matter the government must come clean and explain to the Australian and international community whether it has funded, aided and abetted those that it calls dangerous criminals – people smugglers – to turn back people seeking asylum and safety,” he said.

“Turning people back who may well be in need of protection from persecution could constitute flagrant violation of the convention obligation to protect people fleeing from harm from being subject to further harm.”

The social services minister Scott Morrison, who held the immigration portfolio until December last year, declined to comment on the claims.

“That’s a matter you’d have to put for the minister for immigration. I no longer have responsibility for those matters,” Morrison said.