Labor will not seek an inquiry into allegations that Australian navy personnel held asylum seekers’ hands against a hot engine, despite one of its MPs calling for an independent investigation, opposition leader Bill Shorten has said.



Allegations that navy personnel abused asylum seekers during an incident on board an intercepted vessel have been highly contested since their original airing by the ABC and in further investigations by Fairfax media.

“Our navy servicemen and women do an outstanding job on the high seas,” a spokesman for Shorten said on Saturday.

“The opposition has every confidence in the skills and professionalism of our navy.”

Shorten’s statement hoses down calls from the Labor MP Matt Thistlethwaite who had earlier told Sky News an investigation into the allegations was the best way to vindicate the navy.

Although he had confidence in the navy and thought claims against it should be treated with “healthy scepticism”, Thistlethwaite said continuing allegations suggested an investigation would be appropriate.

The immigration minister, Scott Morrison, released a lengthy and furious response, accusing Labor of supporting “baseless sledges” against the navy and adding to a “hysterical chorus”.

“Bill Shorten and Labor’s apparent willingness to believe the lies of people who sought to illegally enter Australia is a shameful attack on the honour and professionalism of our hard-working and dedicated navy and customs personnel who are acting to fix Labor’s chaos on our borders,” he said.

Morrison also scoffed at media reports that customs officials were conducting inquiries. “The reports are yet another attempt to pump oxygen into these baseless allegations in order to justify their continued repetition in the media.”

Fairfax media said on Sunday that it stood by its report. The allegations have been heavily criticised, most recently by defence minister David Johnston on Saturday who dismissed the statements from Yousif Ibrahim Fasher, saying: “He’s not even Australian.”

Johnston also said in a press conference on Friday that the ABC’s report made him “sick to [his] stomach” and called for an inquiry into the national broadcaster.

“The good men and women of the Australian Navy have been maliciously maligned by the ABC and I am very dissatisfied [with] the very weasel words of apology that have been floated around,” he said.

“I have not said much because, I have to confess, I was extremely angry. I required some time to cool off.”

The prime minister, Tony Abbott, and Morrison have suggested the navy should be believed over the claims of asylum seekers without further inquiry.

The government has repeatedly rejected all allegations but refused to provide details about the incident, including whether or not it was filmed by personnel. The release of any footage “might also help the people smugglers”, Abbott said on Friday.

It has been revealed that no Australian authorities have sought to question the men who made the allegations against navy personnel.

The ABC issued a statement last week which said the original report should have been “more precise” but made no apologies for covering the story.

On Saturday a video emerged apparently showing an Australian Navy vessel towing an orange lifeboat in an apparent turnback operation.

Two orange lifeboats carrying asylum seekers have landed on Indonesian beaches in recent weeks. It is believed the vessels are two of the 11 thought to have been bought by the Australian government as part of Operation Sovereign Borders.