Scott Morrison's secrecy would be funny if it wasn't so serious

My lips are sealed ... Immigration Minister Scott Morrison Pic - Sam Mooy Picture: Mooy Sam Source: News Corp Australia

We now see Immigration Minister Scott Morrison refusing to confirm information released by Immigration Minister Scott Morrison.

Last Friday The Australian reported the buy-the-boats program announced by the Coalition before the election had been dropped. This was the plan to purchase Indonesian fishing vessels to prevent them being used to carry asylum seekers.

"At this stage, that's not a measure the Indonesian government wants to see as part of those co-operative activities, and we respect that," Mr Morrison was quoted as saying in the report, which he has not challenged.

It was clear the Indonesian ministers were not impressed back on October 1 when Prime Minister Tony Abbott visited them. They did not want Australian officials clomping around their villages buying boats and offering bounties for dobbing in people smugglers, and that the $20 million scheme would be gutted.

But it had not been confirmed by minister Morrison. He did last Friday, but seems determined not to do so again, no matter the absurdity.

He was asked about the fate of the scheme by Labor during Question Time on Monday and Tuesday and dodged a direct answer. He probably will be asked again today.

"The Government will not be supporting the Opposition's campaign for the people smugglers' right to know. That is not something we are going to engage in," Mr Morrison said in one reply on Tuesday.

So Scott Morrison was upset with the person who had blabbed about the dumping of the boat buyback plan. That is, with Scott Morrison. And he was not going to confirm or deny to Parliament any loose talk by anyone, including Scott Morrison.

This was just silly. Mr Morrison looked even sillier when on Tuesday night his three star general in charge of Operation Sovereign Borders, Angus Campbell, told all to a Senate committee.

"All those measures remain available at this stage. But [the buy back policy] isn't one that the Indonesian government wishes to see applied right now as part of our co-operative activities, which we respect," said Gen Campbell, almost word-for-word what Scott Morrison told a newspaper reporter but would not tell the Parliament.

The Abbott government has attempted to chloroform the dispersal of information on many fronts, but no where as vigorously as on asylum seeker policy, which it has dressed up as some sort of martial law, right-to-know issue.

But this pantomime of Scott Morrison refusing to confirm what he himself has said points more at a stubborn arrogance than careful management of information.

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