Dramatic footage shows a helicopter land near five stranded men believed to have arrived illegally by boat
North Australian Helicopters, a privately-owned aviation company, posted footage of the helicopter touching down on the north coast beach to their Facebook page on Thursday.
In the video, the group of five men appeared to be standing beside a message written in the sand, believed to have read 'SOS'.
It was not clear where the men came from though the author of the video wrote the men could not 'understand a word of English'.
The men are understood to have since been collected by the Australian Border Force.
Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson said the incident exposed the Albanese Government's failure to protect Australia's borders.
'Media reports of an apparent illegal maritime arrival are deeply concerning. Regardless of whether they are people smugglers or illegal fishers, no one should be able to reach the Australian mainland undetected,' he said in a statement.
Senator Paterson likened the incident to the live firing drill of Chinese warships in the Tasman Sea in February which the government was first alerted to by a commercial pilot.
'Once again, we have seen the Albanese Government relying on private businesses alerting the government to serious security concerns, like when a Virgin Australia pilot was the first to alert the government to a PLA-N live fire exercise in the Tasman Sea.
'Time and time again, we have seen Labor fail to keep Australia safe. Only a Dutton Coalition government will restore Operation Sovereign Borders and stop the boats.'
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke remained tight-lipped about the incident.
'We do not confirm, or comment on, operational matters,' he told The Australian.
'There has never been a successful people smuggling venture under our government, and that remains true.'
The Facebook video has been viewed more than 10,000 times since being posted on Thursday.
The Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force have been contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
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The Herald Scotland
15 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
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We know that there is support for environmental justice across the political parties - and we will continue to hold the Scottish Government accountable until we see the barriers to justice removed." An analysis backed by Scotland's nature agency found wildlife is "in crisis" in 2023 with one in nine animals and plants being at risk of becoming extinct north of the border. A State of Nature Scotland analysis, backed by the [[Scottish Government]]'s [[Nature]]Scot agency and published by a partnership of over 50 nature and conservation organisations, warned the risk of extinction among some groups, such as vertebrates, is much higher at more than a third (36.5%). The most notable declines were with familiar birds such as swifts, curlews and lapwings which have declined by more than 60%. Kestrels have declined by more than 70%. 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South Wales Argus
35 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Age verification UK explained: How is it impacting the UK?
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Scotsman
35 minutes ago
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We must unlock the investment that would deliver new housing, says Colin Brown Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... In May 2024, the Scottish Parliament declared a national 'housing emergency' with some councils also declaring a housing emergency in their areas. The announcement of the emergency came two months after the Scottish Government laid the Housing (Scotland) Bill before the Scottish Parliament. The Bill continues to work its way through Holyrood and is expected to come into force later this year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Observers in the world of institutional investment and those working in the sector have been watching the progress of the Bill with interest. Of particular concern to investors are proposals around rent controls. Colin Brown is a Partner at TLT To give one example that has occurred recently – a London-based investment firm, was about to commit many millions of pounds to its first Scottish investment before discovering that a committee considering the Bill had voted to include purpose-built student accommodation as subject to statutory rent controls. All of the financial appraisals the firm had undertaken in making the decision to invest in Scotland were potentially being ripped up by MSPs and they had no power to do anything about this. In this situation, the Scottish Government moved quickly to make clear it would not support rent control for purpose-built student accommodation. Whilst the project is now starting to come out of the ground it remains to be seen whether they consider Scotland a safe haven for future investment. The rental income which institutional investors derive from their investments in bricks and mortar helps to fund many individuals' pensions. The investors need to understand that in exchange for making their money available they will get a return on their investment and this return has generally been left to market forces – the law of supply and demand. The housing emergency should make investment in new build housing in Scotland a win-win. The country gets much-needed new housing to alleviate the emergency, and the investment funds get to deploy their capital to deliver housing and make a return on their investment. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In the UK in the first quarter of this year £1.2 billion was invested in private rental accommodation with the potential for £6bn to be invested by the end of the year. 76 per cent of this investment is being directed outside London, with Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds leading the way. Every penny of this investment creates new housing and sustains and creates job opportunities. The fact that Scotland has not been able to open the investment tap when cities in England are seeing private rental accommodation expand, could be seen as a missed opportunity. In launching the latest consultation, the Social Justice Secretary acknowledges that rental properties are a crucial element of the efforts to tackle the housing emergency. Government policy has slowed investment into the sector in recent years and resulted in lower investor confidence in providing much-needed housing. Rent caps and controls are of course not universally despised and a balance must be struck between protecting tenants and unlocking the investment that delivers the new housing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The latest consultation on exemptions for certain types of properties from rent control closed earlier this month. There will be investors with capital looking for a home waiting to see if the legislative and political environment in Scotland means they should be deploying more of this in Scotland or continuing to explore opportunities which guarantee a better return elsewhere.
