‘Evil people’: Peter Dutton issues chilling warning

Peter Dutton has made a dark prediction about a looming “disaster” for Australia unless one big thing changes quickly.

Peter Dutton says the Labor government is so divided on its asylum seeker policy it’s sending the wrong message to “evil” people smugglers.

Two asylum seeker boats have been intercepted since the May 21 election, with the latest incident earlier this week.

At least 15 Sri Lankan men were deported under Operation Sovereign Borders after entering Australian waters by boat. It’s understood they left Sri Lanka on the day of the election.

They were flown back to Colombo from Christmas Island on Thursday morning.

The Opposition Leader said the Coalition would support whatever policies the government put forward to keep a strong position on asylum seekers.

At least 15 asylum seekers were sent back to Sri Lanka after a boat was intercepted earlier this week.

“People smugglers aren’t stupid. They’re organised criminal syndicates, they’re evil people taking money off innocent men, women and children,” Mr Dutton told the Nine Network.

“What we don’t want to see is a repeat of Labor’s latest disaster.

“So the mixed messages coming out of the government that are heard in places like Sri Lanka are concerning because not everybody within the Labor Party is singing from the same hymn sheet.

“I hope that the government doesn’t change what we had in place because we got all of the children out of detention that Labor put in, we stopped the boats, stopped the drownings at sea.

“I don’t want to see it restart, but the people smugglers know that the same people who are now in government made terrible decisions before, and that’s what they’re preying on.”

Peter Dutton says people smugglers are preying on soft governments. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tracey Nearmy

Employment Minister Tony Burke said Labor was not changing its policy.

“People who try to come by boat get turned around and sent back,” he told the Nine Network.

“One good thing the previous government came up with was how to handle this issue.

“That (policy) is not changing at all. It won’t.”

The latest boat intercepts follows an unorthodox move by the Morrison government to send out a text message on the day of the election, warning a Labor government would be weak on borders.

An economic crisis in Sri Lanka is likely to result in more boat intercepts over coming weeks and months.

Senior Sri Lankan military officials have been trying to help Australia stop the vessels before they leave the country.