The United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) has weighed in on allegations that Australian authorities paid off people smugglers, as Indonesia issues Australia with a “please explain” notice.

Allegations emerged last week that the Australian government paid people smugglers who were taking 65 asylum seekers to New Zealand to turn the boat around and return to Indonesia in late May.

The UNHCR has reportedly confirmed the allegations, after speaking with passengers aboard the vessel. Guardian Australia has sought comment from the agency’s representatives in Australia, but is unable to independently verify that any payments have been made to people smugglers.

The Australian Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, has told Guardian Australia that the party will write a letter to the Australian federal police asking the agency to investigate whether making such payments breaches domestic and international law.

“This raises broader concerns about what else Australia has done [within its border protection measures],” Di Natale said.

The Greens will also introduce a motion to the Senate on Monday asking the government to produce all documents relating to the payment of people smugglers in the past, with Di Natale noting that the measure jeopardises Australia’s fragile relationship with Indonesia.

Indonesia has launched its own investigation into the allegations, with an official saying if true, they represent a “new low” and a “slippery slope” by the Australian government.



Australia has hit ‘new low’ in handling of migrants, says Indonesian official. Link to video

The Indonesian foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, has met with the Australian ambassador to Indonesia, Paul Grigson, who only just returned to the country after being recalled following the execution of two Australian citizens in April, to discuss the matter.

Jakarta has never supported Canberra’s boat turn-back measure, a cornerstone of the Coalition’s hardline Operation Sovereign Borders policy.

The opposition’s immigration spokesman, Richard Marles, warned that the allegations have the potential to further damage ties between the neighbouring nations.



“It is no small matter here. This is clearly now having an impact on our relationship with Indonesia,” Marles told ABC TV on Sunday. “That the foreign minister of Indonesia has raised this with our ambassador to Indonesia just highlights the fact it is on their mind. But we shouldn’t be waiting for the Indonesians to do this investigation.”

He said paying people smugglers would mean that the government was “creating that pull factor” to ensure more risky sea voyages would be attempted.

“We should not be turning navy vessels into floating ATMs and handing over wads of cash to people smugglers,” Marles said.

Australia’s prime minister, Tony Abbott, on Friday refused to deny the allegations, citing the government’s long-held refusal to take about operational “on the water” issues.

“What we do is we stop the boats by hook or by crook,” Abbott told 3AW radio on Friday.” I just don’t want to go into the details of how it’s done because like a lot of things that law enforcement agencies have to do, it’s necessary, it’s difficult and at times I suppose it’s dangerous work.”

“By stopping the boats we’ve stopped the deaths, by stopping the boats we’ve certainly improved our relationship with Indonesia,” Abbott argued.

Tony Abbott speaks to 3AW’s Neil Mitchell on Friday. Link to audio

Immigration minister Peter Dutton, who earlier in the week denied that payments were made, on Sunday changed his tune, falling in line with Abbott.

“The government’s been very clear from day one under Operation Sovereign Borders and that is we don’t comment in relation to operational matters,” Dutton told the ABC at a refugee week event in Brisbane.

“The government will always do the right thing by the Australian people. We will act within the law, we will act within our international obligations.”

The finance minister, Mathias Cormann, backed the prime minister, saying that commentators were “overinterpreting” his words.

“This proposition that somehow the prime minister has refused to deny [the allegations], and that somehow this is translated into payments have been made is just wrong. No indications has been made whatsoever that payments have been made,” he told Sky News on Sunday.

He criticised the opposition for being hypocrites on the issue.

“The people that got the people smuggling trade going again, the people that gave the biggest ever cash injection to the people smugglers’ business model was the Labor party when they dismantled the successful border protection policies of the previous Howard government,” Cormann said.