Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My contribution to the debate will be very brief given that the Minister for Transport and Regional Services has arrived to sum up. I understand that there are other pressures at the moment, so I will very quickly go over the Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Amendment (Maritime Security Guards and Other Measures) Bill 2005. I will then reflect on the amendment moved by the shadow minister, which I support. This bill amends the Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Act 2003 to define the powers of maritime security guards. This bill will provide maritime guards with limited powers to request a person found within a maritime security zone to provide identification and reasons for being in the zone, to request a person found in the zone without authorisation to move out of the zone and, if that request is not complied with, to remove that person.

This bill is one of a series of bills that have looked at improving maritime security. We on this side of the parliament are very supportive of improvements to maritime security. It is a matter of great importance and should be a priority for the government. The opposition also recognise that maritime security is a specialist area and needs guards that are specialists in that area. I do not believe that the Howard government has taken maritime security seriously. I believe that its approach to maritime security is flawed and these limited measures in this piece of legislation and measures in other pieces of legislation, including an amendment that went through the parliament last week, are not tight enough.

The shadow minister moved an amendment in relation to the use of single voyage permits and continuing voyage permits. I have raised this issue a number of times in the parliament because I am very passionate about the use of these permits. These permits create a situation whereby foreign crews are not subject to the same level of security as Australian crews. You cannot even be assured that the papers that are being presented for those people are accurate. The government has really let the Australian people down in their monitoring of continuing voyage permits and single voyage permits. I can relate to the House, as I have on a number of occasions, my visit to one of these flags of convenience ships that have been granted a CVP and are cruising the coast of Australia. This ship sailed under a Maltese flag, it had a Greek captain and the crew were Burmese. To say that the crew were very nervous of the group that I was with when we visited the ship and that they appeared intimidated and frightened by the captain is an understatement.

Those crews are not subject to the same scrutiny as our Australian crews. They do not have to have the maritime security cards that Australian crews do. They do not have to have the same cards or level of identification and security checks that Australian crews and Australian maritime workers have.

I do not think it is good enough. The rules that apply for Australians should apply for foreign crews as well. The government has been very careless in its use of CVPs and SVPs, as was highlighted in the amendment moved by the shadow minister, the member for Brisbane. We on this side of the House are very aware of the fact that to a large extent this is being driven by the fact that the government is consumed with a hatred of the MUA. Rather than looking at what is best for Australia, the government, since coming to power, has been more consumed with its hatred of the MUA and trying to get rid of the MUA from the face of the Australian shipping industry.

The other issue is the fact that many of these flag of convenience ships, with foreign crew who are not subject to the same scrutiny as our Australian crew, are carrying quite dangerous materials. My predecessor in this parliament was Peter Morris, who was chair of the Standing Committee on Transport, Communications and Infrastructure. He preceded the current chair, the member for Hinkler, who also is a man very committed to this area. When the committee prepared the Ships of shame report, it highlighted the issues that surround those foreign crews.

A follow-up international study conducted by a previous coalition minister, Mr Sharp, and Peter Morris produced a report titled Ships, slaves and competition. Once again, that reinforced the facts about the identification of the crews on foreign ships, the conditions they live under and their position of powerlessness. That position has not changed since that period, as the crews sail around the world on the rust buckets that this government continues to issue with single voyage permits. It is not good enough. Until this government addresses that issue, it is not taking maritime security seriously.

There is also the fact that the number of containers that are X-rayed is not sufficient. We do not think that is up to standard. The government needs to look at and embrace the Labor Party’s policy of establishing an Australian coastguard. I am very supportive of the amendment moved by the shadow minister in relation to a department of homeland security. We should look at enforcing procedures and laws similar to those in the US in relation to the coastguard and in Hong Kong in relation to the scrutiny of containers.

I am very supportive of the amendment moved by the shadow minister. I encourage the minister to accept the amendment and include it as part of the legislation.

See this speech in context