CANBERRA, Australia, Nov. 29 -- Smuggling of illegal immigrants is up in Australia this year, authorities say.

Indonesian and Australian police have stopped 14 boats carrying asylum seekers from traveling to Australia this year, including at least three in the past six weeks alone, The Age reported Friday.

Four boats have made it to Australia, including one that reached western Australia's Shark Bay area Thursday with a dozen Sri Lankans aboard.

While police efforts to head off the smuggling of illegal immigrants have experienced success, the Rudd government has taken a more lenient attitude toward asylum-seekers.

That has brought criticism, including from opposition immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone, who attacked the government for a "failure" in border security..

"(Immigration Minister Chris) Evans has got to do better in getting out the message that Australia is not the new cash cow for people smugglers," she said.(UPI)