Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed concerns a secret operation using fishing boats to remove people from Australia's northern waters is subsidising illegal fishers and people smugglers.
Last week an Australian Border Force (ABF) vessel docked in Broome carrying four modified fishing boats, giving locals a firsthand look at an ongoing Commonwealth program of buying fishing boats from across Australia.
Multiple sources say the boats are given to illegal fishers and asylum seekers found in Australia's waters as a safe way to return home.