Opposition fails to ask questions on the matter in parliament after conceding the practice may have taken place while it was in government

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Labor has stepped back from its parliamentary pursuit of the Abbott government over alleged payments to people smugglers after conceding money might have changed hands in Indonesia during the previous government.

The party did not ask any questions in the House of Representatives on Tuesday about claims that a total of US$30,000 (A$39,000) was paid to the captain and five crew members of an asylum-seeker boat that was intercepted at sea to return to Indonesia in May.

But it did pose questions in the Senate about government-sanctioned leaks regarding intelligence matters, and the upper house passed a motion demanding the Coalition hand over documents about the claims.

Labor never paid crew members to turn back boats, says Bill Shorten Read more

Such orders to produce documents are routinely ignored, with the government having previously invoked a “public interest immunity” defence to avoid disclosing details of Operation Sovereign Borders.

On Tuesday evening, Fairfax Media published photos of thousands of US dollars which Indonesian police said was “the evidence” of bribes.

The six crew members swore under oath that they received about US$5,000 from an Australian official to return to Indonesia, General Endang Sunjaya, the police chief of Nusa Tenggara Timur province, told Fairfax Media.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Footage released by Reuters on Tuesday showed a Sri Lankan man in Indonesia detailing allegations of payments. Link to video

Labor did not ask questions in the lower house on Tuesday after reports emerged that Australia might have paid people smugglers in Indonesia for information and to prevent departures when the party was last in government.

The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said he had been informed “that Labor did not pay people smugglers to turn around boats”. Labor has long opposed the Coalition’s policy of turning back boats as part of Operation Sovereign Borders.

But when asked directly whether Labor had made any payments to people smugglers on land, Shorten said he could not comment on security matters.

Tony Abbott accuses media of 'promoting discord' with Indonesia Read more

“I’m certainly not aware of that but what I would say to you is this: when it comes to national security matters ... we don’t talk about that. No serious leader does,” he said.

The foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, who last week denied payments but on Monday cited operational secrecy to avoid parliamentary questions, accused Labor of double standards.

In the Senate, Labor asked whether the government had authorised the disclosure of classified intelligence material in stories in the Australian and Daily Telegraph.

“The Australian government never authorises the release of classified intelligence material,” the attorney general, George Brandis, replied.



The Australian reported that spies and police working in Indonesia on behalf of Australian had been paying informers in people-smuggling rings as far back as 2001. The Daily Telegraph said it had been told by a “senior intelligence source” that the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (Asis) may have made payments.

The alleged involvement of Asis officers carries legal implications.

Legal experts said payments to people smugglers were likely to be in breach of Australian domestic laws outlawing people smuggling or assisting people smuggling. However, Asis officers are “not subject to any civil or criminal liability for any act done outside Australia if the act is done in the proper performance of a function of the agency”, according to the Intelligence Services Act.

Tony Abbott said he was “absolutely confident that at all times Australian agencies have acted within the law”.

But he again refused to confirm the allegations, and accused some media outlets of being “more interested in promoting discord than in celebrating all the constructive things” that happened between Indonesia and Australia.

Brandis also dismissed questions from Labor’s Senate leader, Penny Wong, about the Indonesian government’s demands for an explanation about the alleged bribes.



The attorney general said he was familiar with the Indonesian government’s remarks but “unlike when you were a member of the cabinet … the Indonesian people smugglers have gone broke because they have no business and the reason they have no business is because they have no customers because the Abbott government stopped the boats”.