According to an Amnesty International investigation, in May 2015, Australian Border Force officials paid six crew members USD $32,000 (approximately AUD $45,000) to take 65 asylum seekers to Indonesia instead of New Zealand [1].
當時 dāng shí 這些 zhè xiē 船員正 chuán yuán zhèng 被 bèi 印尼 yìn ní 警方 jǐng fāng 拘留 jū liú , , 國際 guó jì 特赦 tè shè 組織 zǔ zhī 進行訪 jìn xíng fǎng 談時 tán shí , , 印尼 yìn ní 警方 jǐng fāng 證實 zhèng shí 他們 tā men 在 zài 逮捕 dài bǔ 船員時 chuán yuán shí 確實 què shí 發現 fā xiàn 了 le 確切 què qiè 金額 jīn é 的 de 100 100 美元 měi yuán 鈔票 chāo piào [ [ 1 1 ] ] 。 。
The crew members were in Indonesian police custody at the time of Amnesty's interviews, and Indonesian police confirmed they found that exact amount in US $100 bills on the crew when arrested [1].
Indonesian courts subsequently accepted this evidence as fact during prosecutions of the crew, with judges taking as fact that the smugglers had "received money from Australian customs" [2].
While Amnesty International alleged the payments constituted a "transnational crime" under the UN Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants [1], no Australian court or independent legal authority has ruled the payments illegal.
The government maintained that Operation Sovereign Borders officers acted lawfully, with then-Immigration Minister Scott Morrison stating officers "always act lawfully" [3].
The claim of illegality represents an advocacy position (primarily from Amnesty International and refugee advocates) rather than an established legal finding [1][2].
Under the previous Labor Government (2007-2013), which discontinued boat turnbacks, approximately 50,000 asylum seekers arrived by boat on 800+ vessels, and an estimated 1,200+ people died at sea attempting to reach Australia [4][5][6].
In July 2015, just weeks after the payment allegations emerged, Labor Leader Bill Shorten formally reversed Labor's position and adopted boat turnbacks as official policy [7].
Shorten explicitly acknowledged: "a terrible loss of life took place on Labor's watch" and admitted the Coalition's turnback policy had "saved lives" [7][8].
The claim fails to acknowledge that the government maintained secrecy around "on-water matters" as a deliberate operational strategy to prevent people smugglers from adapting to specific tactics.
Amnesty International documented evidence suggesting payments may have occurred in at least two separate incidents - May 2015 and July 2015 - indicating this was potentially a systematic approach rather than an isolated incident [1][2].
來源可信度評估
### ### 悉尼 xī ní 晨鋒報 chén fēng bào ( ( Sydney Sydney Morning Morning Herald Herald , , SMH SMH ) )
Amnesty International is a respected human rights advocacy organization with high factual standards but clear advocacy positioning.
他們 tā men 的 de 調查 diào chá 非常 fēi cháng 徹底 chè dǐ , , 包括 bāo kuò 對 duì 船員 chuán yuán 、 、 乘客 chéng kè 和 hé 印尼 yìn ní 官員 guān yuán 的 de 訪談 fǎng tán , , 以及 yǐ jí 書面 shū miàn 證據 zhèng jù ( ( 照片 zhào piān 、 、 視頻 shì pín 、 、 實際款 shí jì kuǎn 項 xiàng ) ) 。 。
Their investigation was thorough, including interviews with crew, passengers, and Indonesian officials, plus documentary evidence (photos, video, the actual money).
However, their legal conclusion that payments constituted a "transnational crime" represents an advocacy interpretation rather than an established legal finding [1][2].
Between 2007 and 2013, the Labor Government (Rudd/Gillard) explicitly rejected boat turnbacks, dismantled the Pacific Solution, and did not pay people smugglers.
此期間 cǐ qī jiān 沒有類 méi yǒu lèi 似的 shì de 付款 fù kuǎn 指控 zhǐ kòng 。 。
No comparable payment allegations exist from this period.
**Alternative approach with similar humanitarian consequences:** Labor's policy of not turning back boats resulted in 800+ boat arrivals, 50,000+ asylum seekers, and an estimated 1,200+ deaths at sea [4][5][6].
Labor also re-established offshore detention centers on Nauru and Manus Island in 2012-2013 as a deterrent [6].
**Subsequent adoption of Coalition policy:** By July 2015, Labor explicitly adopted boat turnbacks as official policy, with Shadow Immigration Minister Richard Marles writing that "offshore processing and regional resettlement together with the Coalition's policy of turn-backs is what actually stopped the boats" [7][8].
The Coalition's Operation Sovereign Borders, launched in September 2013, had three stated objectives: (1) stop people smuggling operations, (2) prevent deaths at sea, and (3) protect Australian borders.
On metrics 1 and 2, the policy was extraordinarily successful - boat arrivals virtually ceased after 2014, and deaths at sea dropped to near-zero [11][12].
By paying crews to return to Indonesia (with their passengers), Australian officials: (1) prevented a dangerous journey to Australia, (2) ensured the vessel did not attempt another crossing, (3) disrupted the smuggling operation at its source, and (4) avoided the need for costly detention and processing.
Critics, including Amnesty International and UNHCR, argue that:
- Paying people smugglers potentially funds further criminal operations [1]
- The practice may constitute a transnational crime under international law [1]
- Pushbacks violate the principle of non-refoulement (not returning refugees to potential persecution) [1]
- Secrecy around operations prevents accountability [2]
- Forcing asylum seekers onto under-equipped vessels endangers lives [1]
The policy dilemma presents a genuine moral trade-off: harsh deterrents that save lives versus humanitarian approaches that result in deaths through drownings.
By 2015, Labor acknowledged this trade-off by adopting turnbacks.
### ### 專家 zhuān jiā 分析 fēn xī
The bipartisan consensus suggests both major parties concluded that preventing deaths at sea required measures that human rights advocates find objectionable.
Labor's offshore detention policy (re-established 2012) continues to this day and has been criticized by the same human rights organizations that criticized the Coalition's payment allegations [6].
The claim is factually accurate regarding payments: credible evidence from multiple sources (passenger testimony, crew interviews, Indonesian court records, and police evidence) supports that Australian officials paid people smuggler crews approximately USD $32,000 in at least one documented incident in May 2015 [1][2].
然而 rán ér , , 該主 gāi zhǔ 張關 zhāng guān 於 yú 這些 zhè xiē 付款 fù kuǎn 「 「 非法 fēi fǎ 」 」 的 de 斷言 duàn yán 是 shì 未 wèi 經證實 jīng zhèng shí 的 de 指控 zhǐ kòng , , 而 ér 非 fēi 已 yǐ 確立 què lì 的 de 法律 fǎ lǜ 事實 shì shí 。 。
However, the claim's assertion that these payments were "illegal" is an unproven allegation rather than an established legal fact.
Most importantly, the claim omits critical context: (1) the humanitarian disaster under Labor that preceded these policies (~1,200 deaths at sea), (2) Labor's subsequent adoption of the same turnback policy in 2015, and (3) the genuine policy dilemma between harsh deterrents and preventing deaths at sea.
The claim frames the payments as uniquely Coalition misconduct when, in reality, both major parties pursued harsh border protection measures with significant human costs - Labor's approach resulted in mass drownings while the Coalition's approach involved alleged payments to smugglers and pushbacks.
The claim is factually accurate regarding payments: credible evidence from multiple sources (passenger testimony, crew interviews, Indonesian court records, and police evidence) supports that Australian officials paid people smuggler crews approximately USD $32,000 in at least one documented incident in May 2015 [1][2].
然而 rán ér , , 該主 gāi zhǔ 張關 zhāng guān 於 yú 這些 zhè xiē 付款 fù kuǎn 「 「 非法 fēi fǎ 」 」 的 de 斷言 duàn yán 是 shì 未 wèi 經證實 jīng zhèng shí 的 de 指控 zhǐ kòng , , 而 ér 非 fēi 已 yǐ 確立 què lì 的 de 法律 fǎ lǜ 事實 shì shí 。 。
However, the claim's assertion that these payments were "illegal" is an unproven allegation rather than an established legal fact.
Most importantly, the claim omits critical context: (1) the humanitarian disaster under Labor that preceded these policies (~1,200 deaths at sea), (2) Labor's subsequent adoption of the same turnback policy in 2015, and (3) the genuine policy dilemma between harsh deterrents and preventing deaths at sea.
The claim frames the payments as uniquely Coalition misconduct when, in reality, both major parties pursued harsh border protection measures with significant human costs - Labor's approach resulted in mass drownings while the Coalition's approach involved alleged payments to smugglers and pushbacks.