Australian border forces complete the first successful turn of the boat under the Albanian government

Of course, about 15 people were on board the ship, which was stopped by Australian authorities off the west coast of Christmas Island last week.

Mr Marles said the reversal was proof that the border protection regime in Australia had remained unchanged.

“I think it’s important to say in advance that this shows that there is absolutely no change in terms of setting up Australia’s borders,” the acting prime minister told Sky News.

“It has always been our policy. This is our position since 2015. So I was very clear that we were exactly what we would do if faced with this situation.

“And smugglers need to know this very clearly. There will be no changes with this government. “

However, the politicization of the issue by the Morrison government on election day, he said, “was a disgrace.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for an investigation into the Liberal Party’s texts voters in marginal places on election day with the inscription: “PARAM – Border forces Aust intercepted an illegal boat trying to get to Australia. Preserve our borders by voting for the liberal today. “

Mr Albanez accused the outgoing Morrison government of seeking to “play politics with national security issues”.

“I think on Saturday afternoon we saw how politics played out with national security issues, and millions of Australians received text messages on Saturday afternoon that demonstrated that this was the case,” he said.

Mr Marles told Sky News that the information “should never have been made public”.

“The text sent by the Liberal Party at that time made our country less secure, made our borders less secure,” he said.

He confirmed that Secretary of State Mike Petzul would be asked to investigate.

“We have asked the Secretary of the Department of the Interior to inform us of the circumstances of the election day,” Marles told Sky News on Tuesday afternoon.

“It wasn’t a routine. These are cases that should not have been made public.

“And what is really obvious is that the former liberal government was much more interested in its own political interests than in the national interests.

“She sought to create a division where there was none.”

Rear Admiral Justin Jones, commander of Operation Sovereign Borders, confirmed that the boat had been returned to Sri Lanka in a statement.

“Today, the Joint Task Force of the Sovereign Borders Agency has safely returned passengers aboard a ship intercepted on May 21, 2022, to Sri Lanka,” he said.

“The direction of the Acting Prime Minister was clear to me – this government remains committed to Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) and protecting the lives of people at sea. I, as commander, will continue to do what is necessary to deter smugglers. We will intercept any ship that seeks to reach Australia

it is illegal and safe to return those on board, to the point of departure or to the country of origin, or, if dangerous, they will be transferred to regional processing.

“As is common practice in any OSB operation, each passenger has undergone a thorough health and safety assessment by highly qualified and specialized personnel. All passengers were disqualified from complying with Australia’s security obligations. “

“As a result of these assessments, all passengers were safely returned to Sri Lanka.”

“My message to smugglers trying illegal maritime businesses in Australia

Clearly, don’t risk your life on a dangerous journey, Australian politics doesn’t

a changed, legal and safe way is the only way to live in Australia. “

Earlier this week, Scott Morrison warned voters that the smugglers were preparing to set fire to their business in the event of a Labor victory.

A Liberal Party spokesman confirmed that she had sent text messages to undisclosed mobile phone numbers on Saturday afternoon, advising people to vote for the Liberals to “preserve our borders”.

Screenshots of the messages were widely circulated on social media and were obtained by voters who held tough controversial seats, including Gilmar, Karangamita and Benelong.

The Australian Electoral Commission has said it knows the texts have been sent out, but these types of messages are not banned by the election act and political parties are exempt from privacy and spam laws.

Refugee lawyer and former Socceroo Craig Foster said the reports were “absolutely disgusting”.

“Using vulnerable people, minority communities to incite fear, division, demonization for political gain,” he wrote on Twitter.

“I extend my deepest apologies and solidarity with our beautiful Australian-Sri Lankan community for being used in this way. We have to be better than that. ”

Mr Morrison had previously said there would be no public discussion of “water issues” when he was immigration minister, and Australia began returning ships seeking asylum at sea in November 2013.

– With Ben Graham

Originally published as Border forces are completing the first turn of the boat led by the Albanian government