Christmas Island administrator Jon Stanhope says he would consider quitting the post if the Federal Government tried to gag residents from talking about asylum seeker arrivals.

The Abbott government says it will release weekly information about asylum seeker boat arrivals, abandoning the previous Labor government’s practice of informing the media every time a boat reached Australia.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says keeping close control of information about boat arrivals denies people smugglers the opportunity to exploit such announcements.

But that approach has been tested by Christmas Island residents, who told media on Sunday about the arrival of a boat carrying about 30 people.

Stanhope said he had not been told of any information blackout policy.

“I’ve certainly not been advised of a government policy that there’s to be no announcements or no information provided about boats arriving here on Christmas Island,” he told ABC radio on Monday.

“I find it absolutely remarkable that there could be a policy in place that would seek to prevent 2000 Australians that live on Christmas Island from talking about what happens here.”

The former Labor ACT chief minister said if he was given a directive not to speak freely about boat arrivals he “would seriously have to consider my position”.

That didn’t necessarily mean he would quit though, he said.

Stanhope said there had been a noticeable decline in the rate of boat arrivals over the past month.

“I have absolutely no doubt that the new policies are having an effect,” he said.

Morrison and the military commander tasked with the government’s asylum seeker crackdown are expected to confirm today the eighth boat arrival since the election.

The first since the coalition introduced a new media blackout protocol arrived on Sunday afternoon, bringing the total to eight since September 7.

The vessel landed at Christmas Island carrying about 30 people, shire councillor Gordon Thomson told AAP.

The passengers were expected to disembark around 3.30pm (local time).

Thomson said there were women and children on board very thirsty and drinking lots of water.

HMAS Maitland escorted the boat to the island, he said.

A Customs and Boarder Protection spokeswoman declined to provide official confirmation as a result of the government ending the practice of announcing boat arrivals as they happen.

A spokesman for Morrison also refused to comment and said information would be provided on Monday.

Morrison and deputy chief of army Angus Campbell will give weekly media briefings about Operation Sovereign Borders, the Coalition’s asylum seeker and border protection exercise.

The first will be held on Monday.

He says the government won’t constantly update the public because it wants to starve people smugglers of information.

Extra briefings will be given when necessary, for example, in the case of sinkings.