SYDNEY/COLOMBO (Reuters) - A boatload of asylum seekers intercepted by the Australian navy and returned to Sri Lanka is to be handed over to the police, a Sri Lankan naval spokesman said on Monday, a move bound to fuel concerns about Australia's hard-line policy and rights abuses in Sri Lanka.Australia said the 41 people on board were transferred to Sri Lankan authorities on Sunday, but declined to comment on a second boat reported to be carrying an additional 153, saying only that it was not currently in Australian waters.Australian border patrol personnel intercepted the first vessel carrying 41 Sri Lankans west of the remote Cocos Islands last week, after they were suspected of entering Australian waters illegally.   RETURNING THE BOATSAustralian Prime Minister Tony Abbott came to power last September partly because of his tough stance on asylum seekers.While his popularity has since plummeted, more than 70 percent of Australians support the government's border policy, including sending boats back when safe to do so, according to a recent poll by the Lowy Institute think tank."The government will continue to reject the public and political advocacy of those who have sought to pressure the government into a change of policy," Morrison said in a statement on Monday."Their advocacy, though well intentioned, is naively doing the bidding of people smugglers who have been responsible for almost 1,200 deaths at sea."The government has touted its success in blocking asylum seeker boats, saying there have been no illegal arrivals since last December.Australia received 16,000 asylum seeker applications last year, just under 0.5 percent of the 3.6 million lodged worldwide, UN figures show, a drop from 1 percent in 2010.Opposition Greens Party lawmaker Sarah Hanson-Young told the Australian Broadcasting Corp there was "nothing legal about the way (the government) has conducted these operations. They fall far short of our international obligations". The Greens plan to move a motion in parliament this week demanding more detail on the case.