No comment: government silent over fate of asylum seekers

• Boat policy in disarray as Australia ends stand-off with Indonesia
• Comment: Indonesia needlessly antagonised

The federal government has refused to answer the most basic questions about asylum seekers, amid a stand-off with Indonesia about the fate of 63 rescued boat people.

Fairfax Media attended the weekly media briefing by Immigration Minister Scott Morrison on Friday - now the only opportunity to seek answers from the government on its asylum seeker policy, known as Operation Sovereign Borders. The following is an edited transcript of some of the questions put to Mr Morrison and Lieutenant-General Angus Campbell, the commander in charge of the operation:

"We're not going to go into the micro detail of these operational matters": Scott Morrison.Credit: Tamara Dean.

Q: What’s become of that boat of asylum seekers?
Campbell: "I will not comment further in relation to on-water matters. Thank you."

Q: Are they on their way to Christmas island now?
Morrison: "These matters continue to be dealt with in the practice we have been adopting for the last eight weeks under Operation Sovereign Borders and we'll continue to do it the way we have been doing it."

"As I've indicated earlier, I will not discuss further on-water operations": Lieutenant General Angus Campbell.Credit: Tamara Dean

Q: Do you consider this to be matter of public importance?
Morrison: "What is important is that the people who were the subject of our assistance are all accounted for and I'm sure all Australians will be pleased to know that is the case."

Q: But in terms of making a judgment, if those asylum seekers do come to Australia, doesn't that mean that your turn back the boats policy is…?
Morrison: "You've made a whole bunch of presumptions there which I'm not about to speculate on."

Q: Was Australia the first to respond to the asylum seekers' distress call?
Morrison: "What occurs in these situations is where we get a request for assistance and if we're in a position to do so, we do."

Q: Can you comment on reports that the boat is still in trouble?
Morrison: "Well, I just said all the people that were assisted have been accounted for."

Q: What sort of assistance did you give them?
Morrison: "Well, again, we're not going to go into the micro detail of these operational matters."

Q: Did you help them?
Morrison: "What we are saying is that we rendered assistance..."

Q: What assistance was that?
Morrison: "…and all the people have been accounted for."

Q: Can you tell us what assistance that was?
Morrison: "So we can go around this for a lot longer but that is the position."

Q: Were the Australians the first to arrive on the scene?
Morrison: "Well, again, I'm not going to go into on-water operations of what other potential partners have been engaged with. We were asked to render assistance and we rendered assistance."

Q: So is the boat heading in any particular direction or is it still sitting there?
Morrison: "Well, again, that would go to on-water operations, which we're not providing any further detail on."

Q: So we'd have to go to Indonesian officials to get more information than we get from our own government about this?
Morrison: "This incident was first brought to our attention yesterday. I issued a statement late last night and here we are doing a press conference on it today."

Q: You're not answering any questions.
Morrison: "Well, I've told you that the individuals who are the subject of the assistance have all been accounted for and the Australian Government provided the response that you would expect to provide in those situations, as we have been doing not just over Operation Sovereign Borders, but the Australian Government has provided over a long period of time."

Q: This is an issue of great public interest, and where the boat goes the plight of these people is part of that. Why can't you be more forthcoming?
Morrison: "Because that would go to our conduct of on-water operations, and I, and the Commander, are not going to put our operations at risk through a public commentary on those operations."

Q: So you will tell us where the boat goes?
Morrison: "Well I have given my answer to that question."

Q: General, can you confirm it was HMAS Ballarat that took part in the overnight operation?
Campbell: "As I've indicated earlier, I will not discuss further on-water operations."

Q: When does the incident overnight cease to become an operational matter? So at which point will you brief us on what happened?
Morrison: "Well, it goes to the answer I gave to the gentleman earlier. Any detail that is provided that potentially compromises current or future operations is not detail we will be providing in a public forum."