The Torres Strait Island Regional Council (TSIRC) has slammed the federal government for using local fishermen and their personal dinghies to assist the Australian Border Force (ABF) in search and locate operations of unlawful international arrivals.
On Monday June 6, five men believed to be unlawful arrivals from Senegal in West Africa were located in mangroves on Saibai Island.
TSIRC has also renewed calls to bolster services and invest in resources in the Torres Strait, which is on the frontline of Australia’s only active international border.
Saibai is just 4 kilometres from Papua New Guinea – the neighbouring country’s shoreline is visible from the island.