Australian PM Defends Secret Boat Return Scheme, Refuses to Disclose Cost

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended a secret operation by Australian Border Force (ABF) to return people found in the country's northern waters using modified fishing boats. The boats are purchased from across Australia and given to illegal fishers and asylum seekers as a safe way to return home. Albanese said he "makes no apologies" for participating in Operation Sovereign Borders, a border protection policy introduced in 2013, and declined to disclose the cost of the scheme.