Up to eight people, believed to be Chinese nationals, have been detained by Australian authorities after reportedly arriving by boat on the remote Northern Territory coast earlier this week.
ABC reports that the first six men were found on Tuesday by local workers walking near Maningrida, a remote Indigenous township around 500 kilometres east of Darwin in Arnhem Land. A further two were picked up the next day by Indigenous rangers and later handed over to the Australian Border Force (ABF).
The ABF has not commented on the operation, and it remains unclear where the group has since been taken. However, sources familiar to the ABC with the matter say the group reached the Australian mainland by sea, though the vessel they used has not been located. Authorities suspect they may have been dropped off by an Indonesian fishing boat.
Shadow Home Affairs Minister Andrew Hastie seized on the incident to criticise the Albanese government, claiming it exposed “underinvestment in our border security and defence capabilities.”
“We should have unblinking surveillance on our northern approaches, but instead we have illegal boats penetrating our borders,” Hastie told the ABC.
“This signals weakness to the people smugglers that business is back on under Labor.”
Both the Australian Border Force and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke declined to respond to questions from the ABC, citing a policy of not commenting on “operational matters.”
Minister Burke, while neither confirming nor denying the arrival, hit back at Hastie’s remarks, accusing him of giving ammunition to criminal networks. He told ABC.
“Two days into the job and Hastie is already providing talking points that will be used by criminal people smugglers.”
The incident comes amid rising concerns about people smuggling operations involving Chinese nationals. Last year, several similar ventures were reported in the media, including one disrupted by Indonesian authorities.
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