Nats demand biosecurity officials join Border Force on frontline amid increasing illegal boat arrivals

Meanwhile, farmers and local government officials have reflected growing fears of a biosecurity incursion from marine landings by demanding a greater military presence in the region as pressure mounts on the government over border protection.

The issue was also raised in a closed-door meeting between three peak farming groups and Agriculture Minister Murray Watt in Perth in late February soon after 39 men who had sailed from Indonesia were found in the remote Indigenous community of Beagle Bay, about 100 kilometres north of Broome.

Nationals leader David Littleproud said while Australia had some of the most stringent and strongest border protection measures in the world, he claimed "the consequences of the Albanese Government's weakening of our border security are now clear with more than 311 illegal arrivals on at least 13 vessels since the election."

"It's important the government not just deploy Border Security resources to arrivals but also biosecurity officers to manage any biosecurity risks potentially brought in," he said.

Last week's 15 boat arrivals were found near the Mungalalu-Truscott Airbase and taken to Nauru, as were an earlier group of 12 asylum seekers located in the same area last November.

Pastoralists and Graziers' Association of Western Australia president Tony Seabrook said while it was up to the government to decide who to allow into the nation, he was "desperately concerned" that biosecurity risks do not breach Australia's shoreline.

"These people are obviously bringing food ashore, if you tried to do that at an international airport they wouldn't let you in the country," he said.

"But people come in quite freely up there, then you wonder if others have gotten through. We have got the front door bolted shut and the back door apparently is open."

Mr Seabrook said the nation's "rampant" wild pig population would be the most likely vector to spread a disease through the livestock industry, and that a disease incursion that originated in remote Australia could be circulating "for many months" before detection.

"We are talking about the shutdown of the entire meat export industry right across Australia and it would have an appalling impact on everybody exporting both live and chilled meat," he said.

The Australian livestock industry is projected to have a production value of $31 billion in 2023-24.

Officials have also detected an increasing number of illegal fishing boats in northern Australian waters, while locals report foreign fishermen and crew camping on islands across the region.

Exmouth shire president Matthew Niikkula this week demanded that armed forces undertake increased coastal surveillance and Wyndham East Kimberley shire president David Menzel told the ABC that the arrivals were targeting more populated areas with "pinpoint accuracy."

"We've got over 40 per cent of Australia's exports going out of this corner of the country and got a few soldiers somewhere guarding the whole show," he said.

"But there's also the biosecurity risk, it's certainly not far from Indonesia.

"It'd be good to get an idea of whether they're serious about protecting Australia from that risk or whether they're happy to just pick people up when they arrive and take them to whichever facility they take them to."

Mr Seabrook earlier said that naval border surveillance must be increased across northern Australia using ships, drones and radar technology.

The government was contacted for comment.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that while Australia has "a very large coastline" it was "clear" that unauthorised arrivals will not be settled in Australia and flagged no changes to Operation Sovereign Borders.

However, Opposition Home Affairs spokesman James Paterson claimed earlier this week that aerial surveillance hours under Labor's watch had dropped 20 per cent, while maritime patrol days had dropped 12 per cent.

Mr Watt told AGM Agri following February's arrival that the biggest threat to the nation remained the thousands of containers and sea freight travelling through Australian ports every week.