Opposition Leader Bill Shorten insists Labor governments never paid people smugglers to turn boats around, but has refused to say whether the practice was used on land in Indonesia.
Mr Shorten cited national security precedents to avoid repeated questioning about reported payments to people-smuggling rings from the time of the first Rudd government.
"Labor has never paid people smugglers to turn back boats as it appears the government has done," he told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
"If you are going to security matters about what happens elsewhere ... we simply don't comment."
Mr Shorten insisted he wasn't making a "land-sea distinction" over any payments.
Labor has pressured the Abbott government over the past week to explain away claims the crew of an asylum-seeker boat, en route to New Zealand, was paid by Australian authorities to turn back to Indonesia.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has refused to confirm or deny the allegations but says his government will do whatever it takes to stop boats.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton have both declined to repeat earlier rejections of the claims.
Reports have emerged that under Labor, Australian spies paid Indonesian informers close to people smugglers as part of efforts to destroy the trade.
Mr Shorten said he would not comment on Australian Secret Intelligence Service matters and nor should any serious leader.
Nevertheless, he said Mr Abbott should "clear these matters up very simply with a yes or no just as I've done".
Mr Shorten earlier told a meeting of the Labor caucus that questions about money allegedly being paid to people smugglers to head back to Indonesia were a legitimate line of enquiry.
"We made mistakes in this area and we have learned the difficult lessons of the past ... (but) we have every right to ask questions about this and to expect answers," he said.
Later he told reporters the debate on boats had come about because the government was incompetent and either saying things that weren't true or saying things they shouldn't.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop cautioned Mr Shorten against being so categorical in ruling out what Labor governments might have done.
"Don't rely on the advice of your frontbench on ruling in or ruling out security and intelligence matters under Labor's watch," she told him during parliament's question time.
"I think you're being set up."
Share
