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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed claims the government is asleep at the wheel on border security following the arrival of a group of people by boat in Western Australia’s remote Kimberley.
Police spent the weekend searching for a man believed to have been separated from the party, but said Sunday afternoon that he had been located on a runway near Truscott Air Force Base in Mitchell Plateau, in the state’s northern tip. .
He is believed to have become separated from a “group of about 15 Chinese” who arrived by boat at Mungalalu Truscott air base in the remote Kimberley region on Friday afternoon.
The arrival of the suspect vessel is understood to be the third illegal maritime landing on Australian soil in less than six months.
The opposition seized on the incident as evidence that illegal activity by asylum seekers is again on the rise, with two similar arrivals since November.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said he was concerned that the ship had apparently unloaded its passengers and been able to depart undetected.
A group of around 15 asylum seekers arrived by boat in a remote part (pictured) of Western Australia, the third such arrival since last November.
A charter plane reportedly flew from Mungalalu Truscott airbase (pictured) to Perth on Friday, and it is likely that some or all of the asylum seekers were on board.
‘It comes at a time when the evidence to the Senate committees… is that we have a reduction in relation to maritime surveillance, a reduction in relation to aerial surveillance, concerns about future budget projections for Operation Sovereign Borders and a government that temporarily dismantled protection visas,” he told ABC’s Insiders.
“The government needs to recognize if there are increasing failures here, those problems, its responsibility and act to fix them.”
However, Albanese said it was important to note that there had been no changes to Operation Sovereign Borders.
“Once again, thanks to the Australian government’s response, that message will be sent very clearly to the region,” he told reporters in Melbourne.
The airbase (pictured) is now a commercial airport owned by the Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation.
Questioned about border security concerns, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese argued that no changes will be made to the country’s approach to border protection in response to the latest arrival.
‘We have a very large coastline. What is clear, however, is that unauthorized arrivals will not be settled in Australia. The principles of sovereign border operations will apply as they have in this case.’
WA Police said the search for the missing man took place in challenging terrain, but he was found in relatively good condition.
The Australian Border Force said in a statement it did not comment on operational matters.
The latest arrival comes after a group of 39 people from Pakistan and Bangladesh were found in Beagle Bay, north of Broome, in February, after they also arrived by boat.
The group was flown to an offshore detention center on the Pacific island of Nauru.
Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the incident was the 13th time since the last federal election that a ship has undertaken to bring asylum seekers to Australia.
“No wonder why,” he said.
‘Air surveillance hours under government supervision have decreased by 20 percent, maritime patrol days have decreased by 12 percent.
“The result of this is that people are making it across, reaching the coast, and our border protection regime is being undermined.”