Australian Border Force officers are interviewing a group of more than 20men who say they travelled by boat from Indonesia, at a small remote Indigenous community in Western Australia's north.
The men, believed to be from Pakistan and Bangladesh, were in the main street of Beagle Bay, 100 kilometres north of Broome, having been found on Friday morning.
ABC reporter Erin Parke, who was at the scene, said the group appeared in good health and were wearing t-shirts and trousers, having apparently been given water at the local store.
She said ABF officials arrived in the community shortly after midday to question the men.
The ABF confirmed it was undertaking an operation in the state's north west, but would not provide any further comment on the arrivals.
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"Australia's tough border protection policies means no one who travels unauthorised by boat will ever be allowed to settle permanently in Australia," an ABF spokesperson said.
The men were later taken to the kindy at the local primary school, and pillows were seen being brought in about 5pm.
Torture claims
One arrival told the ABC he was from Pakistan and had previously lived in Australia but had been deported after having his visa declined.
He said he was arrested and tortured when he returned to Pakistan, where his wife and five children live.
"In Pakistan the situation is very bad. They tortured me … they captured my property, many things they did with me," he said.
"I don't want to go back to Pakistan, I can't go back to Pakistan.
"They're not treating us like human beings in our country."
He said it cost him $8,000 to arrange travel to Australia from Indonesia.
He said he hoped to claim asylum and bring his wife and children to Australia.
The man said the group had arrived after a five-day voyage by boat from Indonesia, and had walked for an estimated 35 kilometres before being picked up by locals.
The ABC is choosing not to identify the man for security reasons.
Men dehydrated, 'could have died'
Local Indigenous tour operator Willy Smith said he discovered the men at about 9.30am WST on Friday.
"We were on our way to Broome to do our normal chores and we found these people walking on the road," he said.
"They were very dehydrated – I reckon if we hadn't of turned up, in a couple of hours some of them would have been dead.
"No water, they don't know where they were going – they could have all died."
Mr Smith said the men couldn't speak English and he took "about 20" to Beagle Bay.
"I took them to see the Catholic priest – when I was leaving, one of my neighbours rang and said 'we've found another three walking around in the scrub'," he said.
"We're shocked and surprised – you don't see people like that walking in the bush."
But Beagle Bay resident Adrian, who saw the men standing under shade in the township's main street, said they appeared to be in good health.
"They were well-dressed, [they were] pretty fit, wearing jeans and shirts," he said.
Adrian said the men's arrival had created a stir in what was usually a quiet community.
"They're in a park opposite the shop — it's created a bit of fuss. There's a crowd gathered to watch them," he said.
Adrian said the men went into the local store and were given water, and were happy to enjoy the air-conditioning.
Political border stoush
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had no information to share on the situation when asked at an unrelated press conference at 11am WST.
"I've been travelling in the car, so I haven't been advised about that, but our policies are clear, which is that boats that arrive in that fashion ... we have policies in place that ensure they are dealt with."
Opposition leader Peter Dutton saidthe arrival represented a failure of Australia's long-standing Operation Sovereign Borders.
"If they had no prior warning of the arrival of this boat, then it shows the Prime Minister and the Minister have lost control of our borders and the people smugglers will react to that, they'll put more people on boats," he said.
But Member for Perth Patrick Gorman said the Labor party remained committed to refusing to resettle asylum seekers who arrive by boat in Australia, describing Mr Dutton's comments as a "thuggish politicisation" of the issue.
"Mr Dutton knows that's exactly the same policies that were in place when he was a minister, exactly the same policies when it comes to regional processing," Mr Gorman said.
The ABF took the rare step of issuing a statement dismissing suggestions its priorities had changed.
Rear Admiral Brett Sonter said the mission "remains the same today as it was when it was established in 2013".
"Protect Australia's borders, combat people smuggling in our region, and importantly, prevent people from risking their lives at sea," the statement said.
"Any alternate narrative will be exploited by criminal people smugglers to deceive potential irregular immigrants and convince them to risk their lives and travel to Australia by boat."
The ABF said it was determined to disrupt the people smuggling trade.
"Australia remains committed to protecting its borders, stamping out people smuggling and preventing vulnerable people from risking their lives on futile journeys," a spokesperson said.
"The people smuggling business model is built on the exploitation of information and selling lies to vulnerable people who will give up everything to risk their lives at sea."
Friday morning's arrivals follow the landing of 12 people at the remote Truscott air base, 500km north east of Kununurra, in November 2023.
That group were discovered at the remote location and detained by ABF who refused to comment on the incident, citing operational matters.
The ABF has increased patrols in north west waters in recent months,with an uptick in illegal fishers in the Kimberley Marine Park.
The ABF has even resorted to social media warnings about the threat of crocodiles to dissuade fishers and potential asylum seekers from making treacherous attempts to reach the Australian mainland.
Small Indigenous community
Beagle Bay is an Indigenous community based on the Dampier Peninsula, accessed by Cape Leveque Road, which was sealed in 2020.
The 2021 Census put the community's population around 370, with the majority of residents being Aboriginal.
Beagle Bay's main attraction is a heritage church adorned inside with mother of pearl shells. Visitors to Broome regularly travel to the community to see the Sacred Heart Church.
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