First, the High Court released 'hardened criminals' onto the streets. Now Anthony Albanese's government faces a fresh headache - and his opponents can't wait to get stuck in

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been blamed for allowing refugee boats to come back after a mystery vessel with 12 foreign nationals on board was found in remote crocodile-infested waters off north Western Australia.

It's the first boat to make it to the Australian mainland through the hardline Operation Sovereign Borders turnback policy since dozens of hardened criminals in permanent detention were freed back into the community by the government.

Now Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has branded the breakthrough arrival as a tell-tale signal of the government's incompetence after they were distracted by the Voice referendum.

'It’s just a really bad sign that they’re slipping and they’ve lost that competency to properly run the show,' Mr Joyce said in a series of media interviews on Friday.

'It's just turning into a cluster of mindless, pointless lack of attention to detail while they've been fascinated by such things as the Voice referendum. 

 'They got a warning about it six months ago and they’ve sat back... there were bigger things to do like the referendum - and what a debacle that turned out to be.'

He added: 'The Labor Party has got to start getting the fundamentals of being a government correct.

'They’ve got to sharpen up or the Australian people will start making some very serious decisions about their competency and their ability to run the country.'

The mystery boat sailed from Indonesia to a remote spot on the Anjo Penisula 36km from the Aboriginal community of Kalumburu, 500km south of Indonesia, before it was found by locals.

The nationality of the 12 on board - believed to be mostly or all men - is not yet known or whether they are seeking asylum or fishermen whose boat drifted ashore.

The all-male group then walked through rugged bushland in 35C heat arriving at the remote Truscott North Kimberley Airport on Wednesday.

They were given food and water by airport staff who described them as being in 'poor shape'.

The arrival has sparked fears it may encourage people smugglers to restart their operations, especially after the High Court's decision to free detainees.

On November 8, 93 asylum seekers were released into the community after the High Court found their indefinite detention was unlawful.

Three of those released are murderers, including one who killed a pregnant woman in Malaysia, and another previously jailed for raping a 10-year-old boy in Sydney.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil has since introduced a raft of strict new visa conditions for the released detainees including ankle tracking devices and curfews.

But Mr Joyce said: 'It won’t discourage them, will it?

'They will say, "Well look, he’s out walking the street and he’s a convicted rapist… I reckon I could give this a crack”.'

Mr Joyce also said he was concerned  for the safety of those on board the boat.

'If they don't get out of the scrub, they might get eaten by crocodiles,' he said. 

'I’m being excessively flippant there and I shouldn’t because it’s hopeless and [the government] really should pull their socks up. 

'But that’s a big part of this, when people start making their own arrangements, they not only break our laws, but they put their own lives in danger. 

'We’ve had 50,000 people that came in under the Labor Party’s tutelage last time and we don’t want to return back there.

'We've already had this ridiculous release of pedophiles and rapists from detention now wandering the streets at the moment. 

'Now we've got we've now got confirmed that people being dropped off in Australia again.

'It shows that have people have the capacity, and I hope that nobody wants this illegal trade and people to start up again.

'I hope that they look at how it happened and stop it but we gotta have a government that's on the front foot. It's shoddy management.'

One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson has now promised to bring legislation to Parliament to put the recently-released detainees back behind bars.

'Labor has sent a clear message to the criminal people smuggling syndicates that Australia’s borders are wide open.,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'I don’t think it’s a coincidence that people smugglers are again targeting Australia following the release of more than 80 stateless detainees into the community – including murderers and paedophiles – after the High Court ruled against indefinite detention.

'Labor has always been soft on people smugglers and illegal immigration, and since when was national security and the safety of Australians outsourced to the High Court?'

She added: 'I’ll be working on legislation which addresses the issue of indefinite detention by placing a time limit on detention of at least 25 years.

'This will enable dangerous persons to be detained to protect the safety of the Australian community, while ensuring detention is not indefinite.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment.