The Labor MP hit out at Coalition plans to keep boat arrivals unreported until a weekly briefing, saying it was impractical and the Government would need to gag all residents on Christmas Island as well as administrator and former ACT Labor Chief Minister Jon Stanhope.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison confirmed on Sunday his department would no longer provide the real-time updates on arrivals that often amounted to several times a day.

''Briefings on Operation Sovereign Borders will be initially held weekly with any changes based on operational considerations to be advised,'' Mr Morrison said.

But Dr Leigh said it was a striking approach and "ultimately a media management strategy".

"We've gone from stop the boats to buy the boat to hide the boats."

Eight boats have arrived since the Coalition won the election, with the latest arrival on Sunday, reported by Christmas Island residents.

Dr Leigh said if Mr Morrison was going to make the policy work, "he's got to gag everyone, he's got to gag the Administrator of Christmas Island Jon Stanhope and the residents of Christmas Island who were the ones who got the news out today.

"I don't think its practical at all and it speaks really to the Coalition's desire to bring secrecy back to government."

Dr Leigh said when Labor came to power in 2007 in the wake of the Cornelia Rau affair, Labor had to contend with the "culture of secrecy the Coalition had built within the Department of Immigration."

"They are also now looking at getting rid of the independent review of ASIO assessment of asylum seekers taking us back to the bad old days of excessive secrecy."

Dr Leigh noted the secrecy culture appeared to be extending to other spaces where the Coalition was allegedly "looking at bringing back gag clauses for charities - it's a worrying trend right across government."

This could extend to allowing legal action to be brought against groups of boycott companies on environmental grounds.

"It's extraordinary, the notion you would prevent consumers from getting together to say that they believe for ethical reasons a certain product shouldn't be purchased. This is what we saw during the Apartheid era when consumers got together and urged a boycott of South African product."

"The idea we can't get together with our fellow people and talk about environmental or other ethical issues as they affect product purchase, is frankly extraordinarily heavy handed."