Second group of asylum seekers wander into Australian city – after 30 they end up on an 'unnoticed' boat and are found on the side of the road
A second group of asylum seekers have landed undetected in northern Australia and shocked locals by wandering into a remote campsite.
The group of 13 men walked into the Indigenous-run Pender Bay campsite, 180km north of Broome in Western Australia, shortly before 5pm on Friday, reportedly identifying themselves as 12 Bangladeshis and an Indian.
It follows about 30 male asylum seekers, who said they were from Bangladesh and Pakistan, who turned up on Friday morning near the indigenous community of Beagle Bay, about 51 kilometers south of Pender Bay.
The discovery of more unexpected boat arrivals threatens to ignite political discontent over the borders, a historic electoral sore point for Labour.
Photos of the newly arrived men at Pender Bay show they suffered cuts and other minor injuries, likely from walking through mangroves and clambering over rocks to get to land, with the wounds being treated by an indigenous local.
Apparently undetected asylum seekers have landed in northern Western Australia and were discovered in Pender Bay, about 51km north of where the first group was discovered.
When shown reports of the group being found in Beagle Bay earlier in the day, the men claimed they were unaware of it.
WA police are said to have arrived at the settlement late on Friday.
Locals have also started scouring the coastline for more undetected arrivals.
The Australian Border Force told media on Friday they were conducting an ongoing operation in northern Washington.
“As this operation is still ongoing, no further information will be provided,” the ABF said in a statement.
'Australia's strict border protection policy means that no one who travels unauthorized by boat will ever be allowed to settle permanently in Australia.
'The only way to travel to Australia is legally, with an Australian visa.'
Some of the first group of asylum seekers discovered in remote northern Washington on Friday morning
The first group of asylum seekers said they arrived by boat from Indonesia, but it is unclear how many ships were involved, ABC reported.
Beagle Bay residents said they left the community on a bus early Saturday after apparently spending the night at the local school.
The bus appeared to be heading towards the Curtin RAAF base.
A Nauru Airlines plane left the Curtin base mid-morning and arrived at Broome International Airport shortly afterwards, where it remains.
Australia has an immigration detention center on Nauru.
On Friday, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and claimed the unnoticed arrivals showed he was soft on the borders, a historic electoral sore point for Labour.
Mr Dutton also addressed the fact that Mr Albanese told reporters he was unaware of Friday morning's arrivals because he had been traveling by car.
“There are some disturbing reports about the latest arrival of the boat, this would be at least number 12 under the watch of this Prime Minister,” Mr Dutton said.
“The prime minister's phone works in the car, he should have called, he in turn should have called his minister to ask what is going on,” Dutton told reporters.
“People smugglers can pick a weak leader, a weak prime minister and a weak minister, and that's exactly what they did.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he is assured Border Force is handling cases professionally
Mr Dutton sought to link the new arrivals to the controversy over the Albanian government's treatment of immigration detainees, which saw their criminal records released by Supreme Court order in November but a number arrested.
The Ministry of Interior announced earlier this week that 24 of the 149 people released have already been charged with violating visa conditions or state offenses
“Now we have been warning about this for some time now, all the key factors such as releasing the 149 criminals (under the Supreme Court ruling) and weakening Operation Sovereign Borders,” Mr Dutton said.
“That sends a clear message to the people smugglers, and then they get back to work, and then we see boat arrivals.”
Mr Albanese told the media on Saturday that he had been in contact with Home Secretary Clare O'Neil and the commander of the Operation Sovereign Borders task force, Admiral Brett Sonter, and had been assured that matters were under control.
“We don't talk about the details of operational matters, but I am very confident that Operation Sovereign Borders has been set up,” he said.
“It's the same system that worked before and we'll make announcements about what happened there…when it does.”
“Our position on Operation Sovereign Borders is very clear, and people trying to arrive here by boat will not be settling here.”
The Australian Border Force has been contacted for comment.