37 arrested, one to be processed A file photo of an asylum seeker boat found eight nautical miles north north west of Cape Van Dieman. Australian Navy boats escort the boat containing approximately 40-50 asylum seekers. THE Federal Government has confirmed one Sri Lankan national from a boatload of 38 turned back on the high seas earlier this month has been transferred to an offshore processing centre. The boat was intercepted by Australia's coastguard northwest of the Cocos Islands on November 15. The Australian and Sri Lankan governments worked together to disrupt the people-smuggling venture, a statement from Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday. Everyone on board was individually assessed by trained protection officers who determined that in one case, a referral for a refugee determination process was recommended. That individual will be transferred to Papua New Guinea or Nauru for processing, the statement said. The remaining 37 have been arrested by Sri Lanka's police, in the first such case in four months, an officer said on Friday. Superintendent Ajith Rohana said Australia's coastguard intercepted the trawler carrying the Sri Lankans near the Indonesian coast, before handing the asylum-seekers over to Sri Lanka's navy on Thursday. "The boat left Sri Lanka on November 1," Rohana said, adding that six children were among the passengers. "Investigations are being conducted by the anti-people smuggling unit of the CID (Criminal Investigation Department)," Rohana said. They are being held in custody, but will be taken before a magistrate shortly. Mr Morrison told reporters on Saturday there was no greater deterrent to people smuggling than "stopping the boats physically and returning them from whence they came." "It's the measure that has been the standout performer that has led to just one venture making it to Australia this year," he said. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has rejected UN criticism of the government's offshore detention policies. Bill Shorten will never do a turnback if he were to ever become Prime Minister. He would be bringing the boats with him. He doesn't have the ticker for turnbacks. Mr Morrison rejected a United Nations report claiming Australia was acting in defiance of its international obligations. "The Australian government acts consistent with our international obligations and our border protection policies are preventing deaths at sea," he said. Asked whether he had concerns for the safety of the 37 passengers returned to Sri Lanka, Mr Morrison said: "No I don't. The screening process we have adopted, which was the same adopted by the previous government, ensures we have acquitted our obligations, as we must. We have to deal with the mess left behind of people coming willy-nilly to this country and people dying at sea. This is a government that has been doing what it said it would do. Labor remains focused on the politics and its own self-congratulation. The returns were the first since July when a boat loaded with 41 nationals was intercepted by Australia. Sri Lanka charged them with illegally leaving the country, and their cases are due to be taken up by a court next May. Australia has gifted two vessels to Sri Lanka's navy to patrol its shores and stop boats leaving the island, as part of Canberra's hard line border protection policy. Australia's conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott came to power in September last year vowing to stop asylum-seekers arriving on rickety boats following dangerous voyages. Australia faces international censure over its treatment of boat people who are denied resettlement in Australia and sent to camps in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific state of Nauru. Opposition leader Bill Shorten said while it was important to defeat the people smugglers, "as a principle I know all Australians would agree that people in our care should be treated safely and humanely." "This is a government that's addicted to secrecy," he said. What Australians want is to see their government not deepen the trust deficit, but bridge the trust gap.