Chocco,The people smugglers have beaten the Navy. The ships are...

Chocco,
The people smugglers have beaten the Navy. The ships are falling apart, cracks everywhere.

Angus, with his RAAF background, could come up with a deterrent such as strafing runs, close to the boats, with rubber bullets. The boats might then turn around.

Another approach, advise all illegals, that only those with identity papers will be rescued by the navy and taken to Christmas island. What we don't tell them is that they will all be returned from whence they came.
Fred.