No ‘backbone’: Peter Dutton slams Anthony Albanese on Torres Strait boat arrivals

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has accused Anthony Albanese of lacking the ‘backbone’ to stand up to people smugglers, after five African men were detained by border officials.

Saibai Island in the Torres Strait. Picture: Instagram

Peter Dutton has accused Anthony Albanese of lacking the “backbone” to stand up to ­people-smugglers, after five African men believed to be asylum-seekers landed on Saibai Island in the Torres Strait and were detained by border officials.

The men are believed to have been brought to Saibai, one of the northernmost Australian islands and about 4km from the Papua New Guinea mainland, earlier this week, and dropped by alleged PNG people-smugglers among the mangroves in a crocodile habitat.

They had allegedly entered PNG from Indonesia using dodgy tourist visas.

It is understood a Saibai man and his uncle were netting for bait fish when they spotted the five men, only one of whom spoke English.

Refugees on Saibai Island in the Torres Strait

The men were then taken into the community, where video was taken of the alleged ­illegal arrivals wearing blankets and being flanked by at least four Australian Border Force officers.

The five are now receiving health checks, but the ABF is refusing to say what will happen next.

The ABF would only say it had “well established operational processes to manage irregular movements of people in the Torres Strait”.

The Opposition Leader criticised the Albanese government’s approach to Operation Sovereign Borders, accusing the Prime Minister of “weakness” on ­national security.

“I just don’t think the Prime Minister’s got the backbone to stand up to people-smugglers or to our adversaries or others who would seek to do us harm,” Mr Dutton said.