Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has cut Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi some slack over the mounting humanitarian crisis that the United Nations has dubbed a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
More than 412,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from the Buddhist-majority country in the past month and are living in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh.
Ms Suu Kyi broke her silence on the crisis on Tuesday with a televised address in the capital Naypyitaw while world leaders including Foreign Minister Julie Bishop lined up on the sidelines of a UN summit in New York urging her to put an end to the military violence against Rohingya.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner said Myanmar does not fear international scrutiny.
"There have been allegations and counter-allegations, and we have to listen to all of them," she said.
"We have to make sure these allegations are based on solid evidence before we take action. We want to find out why this exodus is happening."
Mr Rudd said he interpreted Ms Suu Kyi's speech with a degree of subtlety compared to others.
"The code language is the military have run amok," Mr Rudd told ABC TV, adding that every word she utters is monitored by the military, looking for a pretext to resume military rule.
"The bottom line is this, moral authority is one thing, he who controls the barrel of the gun in Myanmar is another."
Australia has pledged a further $15 million in humanitarian support, particularly to Bangladesh which is hosting those who are fleeing.
"The message is very clear that the violence must stop," Ms Bishop told ABC radio on Tuesday.
Amnesty International argued Ms Suu Kyi had "buried her head in the sand" over the horrors in Rakhine state.
Amnesty spokesman Michael Hayworth urged Australia to resettle more Rohingya refugees.
"The recent record of Australia resettling Rohingyas has been nothing short of shameful, with only 37 resettled since 2013," he said.
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong acknowledged there would be some disappointment over what Ms Ms Suu Kyi did and didn't say.
Senator Wong praised her for recognising the importance of upholding human rights and for having an openness to international observers.
"The international community has rightly responded and is rightly putting pressure on Myanmar," she told Sky News.
