Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has stopped his weekly press conferences updating the media on the federal government's border protection efforts.
Mr Morrison confirmed on Tuesday night that he would no longer be holding a regular media conference each week on Operation Sovereign Borders.
''We will do them on an 'as needs' basis to detail operational matters that are able to be released and we'll respond to questions there,'' he told the ABC's 7.30 program.
The Immigration Minister said written statements would continue to be released every week, detailing the number of asylum seekers that arrive by boat.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrisson, pictured with Lieutenant General Angus Campbell at a briefing, says he'll no longer hold the weekly press conferences.Credit: Jacky Ghossein
He also said he would hold a press conference in Canberra on Wednesday with Operation Sovereign Borders commander Angus Campbell. The press conference is scheduled for 11.30am.
After the government was sworn in in September, Mr Morrison began a weekly briefing session with Lieutenant General Campbell, to provide information about the government's bid to stop asylum seeker boats from coming to Australia.
The briefings frustrated some journalists when questions were not answered for what Mr Morrison and Lieutenant General Campbell argued were ''operational'' reasons.
The weekly briefings stopped over the Christmas holiday period and since the last press conference on December 20, only written statements have been issued.
There are reports that as many as six boats have been turned back to Indonesia in recent weeks, although this has not been confirmed by the government.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said she was concerned by Mr Morrison's "constantly changing rules" and the government's "unprecedented level of secrecy".
"The Immigration Minister is making up the rules as he goes along in a desperate attempt to avoid embarrassment," Senator Hanson-Young said in a statement.
"Refusing to face questioning and politicising the Defence Force by hiding behind a military general is unbecoming conduct from the Abbott government."
Labor's acting immigration spokeswoman Michelle Rowland said the "culture of secrecy under the Abbott government ... had reached new heights".
"Now he's in government, Scott Morrison doesn't want the Australian public to know that the policies they took to the election – buying the boats, towing the boats back and offering bounties – have been dumped," she said in a statement.
"Labor's Regional Resettlement Arrangement with PNG [announced by Kevin Rudd in July 2013] is stopping the boats, not these ridiculous policies."
Last week, Prime Minister Tony Abbott defended the Coalition's approach to releasing information about asylum seeker boats, likening Operation Sovereign Borders to being at war.
''If we were at war we wouldn't be giving out information that is of use to the enemy just because we might have an idle curiosity about it ourselves.''
Mr Morrison similarly defended the government's position, comparing it to the secrecy needed around criminal matters.
''It goes to what are operational matters and the discretion needed when dealing with those things and I could apply a similar scenario in relation to a civil matter. You don't have the police running around when they're dealing with drug investigations or other things like that providing a running commentary to the media every week about the technical and tactical issues they're engaged in to track down criminals,'' he said on Tuesday night.
This comes as Fairfax Media reports that Navy personnel involved in border protection operations have been placed on a footing similar to military personnel fighting in battle.
It also comes amid reports that asylum seekers on Christmas Island have gone on a hunger strike. Refugee advocates say that 50 asylum seekers were on a hunger strike and about six had sewn their lips together.
Fairfax Media understands that the protests so far have been peaceful.