The federal coalition has been warned against dragging the defence force into the domestic politics of the asylum seeker debate.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's plan to appoint a senior military commander to lead people smuggling and boat arrival operations has been dismissed by a leading defence lobby group as unnecessary.
"It is not conducive to informed public debate ... to `militarise' discussion of what remains unequivocally a civil law enforcement issue," the Australia Defence Association said.
Under Mr Abbott's plan, 12 agencies involved in border protection would come under the command of a single three-star military commander.
Watch: Coalition declares 'national emergency' on boat arrivals
The opposition leader says Labor's border protection failures have put Australia in a national emergency.
"This is one of the most serious external situations that we have faced in many a long year," he told reporters in Brisbane.
"That's why we need to have a senior military officer in operations control of this very important national emergency."
Operation Sovereign Borders, as it would be known, would be established within 100 days of the coalition taking government.
The chief of the defence force would appoint the commander, who would report directly to the immigration minister.
Within its first 100 days a coalition government would also finalise and issue the protocols for Operation Relex II, to turn back asylum seeker boats when safe.
It would also increase capacity at offshore processing centres, and lease and deploy additional vessels so border protection patrol boats could be relieved of passenger transfers.
Watch: Asylum seekers undeterred by new policy
The plan comes a week after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd ramped up Labor's approach to the asylum issue by declaring Australia would never again accept would-be refugees coming by boat.
They will be sent on to Papua New Guinea for processing and if successful will be resettled there. The unsuccessful will be returned to their country of origin or a third country.
Mr Abbott was flanked at his press conference by outspoken retired Major General Jim Molan, who has thrown his support behind the policy.
General Molan said addressing the issue of people smuggling was "not the work for a committee", and indicated he would provide ongoing advice to the coalition on implementing its policy.
Mr Abbott said as a courtesy he had given Chief of Defence David Hurley and the Indonesian ambassador a heads up about the announcement on Thursday morning.
General Hurley issued a statement denying media reports he had advised Mr Abbott on the policy.
Mr Rudd dismissed Mr Abbott's new policy as just another slogan.
"So we have two three-word slogans: stop the boats and operation sovereign something-or-other," he told reporters in Launceston.
Mr Abbott's policy announcement came as Immigration Minister Tony Burke arrived on PNG's Manus Island to visit the Australian-run immigration detention centre amid fresh controversy over conditions there.
Mr Burke said authorities were working on removing the remaining detainees from Manus Island to make way for arrivals under the new PNG processing regime.
Eight boats with 638 suspected asylum seekers on board have been intercepted since Friday's the so-called PNG Solution came into effect.
The first group is expected to be taken to Manus Island within two weeks.
Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser has called for a royal commission into the immigration department and its management of offshore processing centres, labelling Manus Island and Nauru "Australian gulags".
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