Immigration Minister Tony Burke is being accused of verballing intelligence data to justify the government's plan to send asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea.
The minister announced on Wednesday asylum seekers in Indonesia were reportedly demanding their money back from people smugglers.
But his coalition counterpart Scott Morrison said this was a selective release of intelligence information.
"The minister is making that claim and the minister is citing intelligence which he hasn't defined," he told reporters in Brisbane.
Mr Morrison said that Chris Bowen, as the former immigration minister, had been more judicious than Mr Burke when he tried to sell the Malaysia people swap deal in 2011, before the High Court struck it down.
"At least he didn't go around verballing intelligences agencies," he said.
"I'm not surprised that minister Burke will make all sorts of claims, he'll read into the tea leaves of every single arrival."
Another boat carrying 65 people was intercepted near Christmas Island earlier this week.
