Senate orders govt to produce boat docs

The Senate has demanded the government produce documents showing whether money was paid to people smugglers to turn back asylum-seeker boats to Indonesia.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young won upper house support for a motion requesting documents showing if any money was paid to people on vessels en route to Australia, the amount, to whom and for what purpose.

"The Australian public have a right to know what has occurred, how much money has been spent and who in the government authorised payments to be made," Senator Hanson-Young said in a statement on Tuesday.