Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

There has been a blow-out of $1 billion because of this government's failure to protect our borders from illegal boats and, as a result of this, there have now been cuts that have resulted in this government's failure to protect our borders from the penetration of illegal guns. This is why standing orders must be suspended. The blow-out in costs on boat people has led to a cut in spending on the screening of imported cargoes. Border protection failures on boats are now leading to border protection failures on guns. There could be no more important issue for this House to consider right now.

There have been enormous cuts to screening as a result of the blow-out in border-protection costs because this government cannot stop the boats. Since 2010—and this is why standing orders must be suspended—340 staff have been axed from the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. The budget of Customs for cargo screening has been decreased. It has been cut by almost $60 million. This has resulted in a 75 per cent cut to air cargo screenings and a 25 per cent cut to sea cargo screenings. This is why standing orders must be suspended. Less than five per cent of sea cargo is X-ray screened and less than one per cent of sea cargo is physically examined. The situation is much worse for air cargo. Is it any wonder that illegal guns are coming into our country?

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