Nickolas Varvaris (Barton, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the abolishment of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service as a statutory agency, through the repeal of the Customs Administration Act of 1985, and the merging of its functions with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

Today's bill is another important piece of legislation the coalition is recommending to strengthen our border security arrangements. I am proud to say that our government is systematically implementing and reinforcing good policies that will sustain our track record of no lives lost at sea. I would also like to remind the House that no boats have arrived in over 200 days. This can only mean that the coalition has implemented a raft of measures that have deterred people from risking their lives in unsafe passages at sea.

Today's legislation is part and parcel of the important work the coalition is doing to strengthen our operational capability in border security and immigration. Our borders are a national asset that define our democratic and sovereign state. They are our gateway for trade, business and the operation of free markets. They support our strong national security through the prohibition of goods and people who seek to break the law. Whilst our operational framework is currently viable, it cannot guarantee to safeguard the integrity of our border security for the future. As such, operational amendments and streamlining are necessary to ensure our immigration personnel have the right resources to carry on their important tasks, and that our operations are as seamless, efficient and effective as possible. This is essential, given the volume of trade Australia enters into and the increasing population movements across our borders. It is the responsibility of the Australian government to ensure we have a secure platform for all these activities that have contributed enormously to our economy.

The Australian Border Force Bill 2015, and the other border protection reforms being implemented by the coalition, will position our nation to confront the challenges posed by increased border interactions. The Australian Border Force Bill 2015 will include the establishment of the Australian Border Force within the Department of Immigration and Border Protection with a specific Australian Border Force Commissioner. It will enforce customs and immigration law to better protect our national borders.

Australia's coalition government is determined to protect our borders and ensure that national security is always prioritised and carried out with integrity. We need a national security agency that can actively address evolving national security threats with the capacity to better enforce laws. In 2008, the creation of a single Australian border agency was rejected by the Review of Homeland and Border Security. The recommendation given was that, rather than bringing key border functions together in a single border agency, a whole-of-government strategic planning framework would better suit Australia. This framework is exactly what the coalition's formation of the Australian Border Force will offer.

The coalition commenced active discussions on a single, streamlined border security network in May of last year that will see the amalgamation of the Department of Immigration with the Customs and Border Protection Service as a single federal entity. Thus, today's bill also allows the necessary legislative basis for such an establishment to have control of the operations of the newly formed Australian Border Force.

As part of the plan to consolidate Customs into the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, a series of reforms and capability improvements will be implemented in Customs to further lead to the abolishment of Customs on 1 July 2015. The Australian Border Force will be headed by a commissioner, who will report directly to the minister, and for administrative purposes, there will be a reporting link to the Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. The commissioner will have the same standing as other heads of key national security related agencies such as the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police and the Chief of the Defence Force. The commissioner will also be the Comptroller-General of Customs, with responsibility for the enforcement of customs law and the collection of border related revenue.

This bill illustrates the important measures that are critical to ensuring our border security is agile and reflective of the changes to the way we conduct business, and the merging transient patterns of human movement. By way of example, recent statistics show that in 2012-13, Australia issued nearly 4,500,000 visitor and temporary resident visas. This figure includes working and student visas. In addition to these, 190,000 migration visas were issued that year. Some 8,308 non-illegal asylum protection visas were lodged, and nearly 20,000 illegal maritime arrivals were screened. With a total of approximately 5,000,000 people entering Australia in 2012-13, the screening, processing and recording of them can prove to be difficult, with various departments having to work on them. As a streamlined department with aligned strategy and goals, the Australian Border Force will have the capacity to act in a timely and efficient manner.

The establishment of the Australian Border Force will remove duplication and it will enable the deployment of greater resources to the front-line operations. Not only will the Australian Border Force bring together front-line staff but it will also be a savings measure. The budget of 2014-15 included $480.5 million over four years to consolidate Customs into the Department for Immigration and Border Protection. Through the removal of duplication significant savings will be made. These savings will then be available to reinvest into the Australian Border Force without having to further strain government spending. Furthermore, today's bill will bring together the people, expertise and systems across the immigration and border protection portfolio into a single department.

We can look to our international partners to see how similar actions have positively impacted those nations. Both the United States and the United Kingdom have adopted similar reforms to those proposed in this bill. From their failures and successes it is clear that the Australian Border Force will benefit our national border security by being a hybrid of the current UK Home Office model. The model proposed is similar to what the United Kingdom now has in place, where its border force, previously part of the troubled UK Border Agency, became a law enforcement command within the Home Office, in 2012.

This coalition government has a successful track record of securing Australia's borders. We promised to stop the boats, and it was done. National security has always been a key focus in our policies, and we believe this needs to be done in a truly integrated and holistic fashion. We on this side have a vision to protect Australia and work effectively towards the national interest. Working on a whole-of-government strategic framework has continually been in our interest, and has proven to be a successful way to achieve effective reform that will serve our national interest and give the populace peace of mind.

Enforcing our customs and immigration laws are two the issues on which this coalition government was

voted in. These two issues are relevant to the reform proposed through this bill today. It is in our national interest to protect the borders and to protect those within our borders from potential national security threats. It is in our national interest tokeep a record of who is entering and who is leaving our country, and to put a limit on the expenditure put into screening illegal maritime arrivals.

We were ver y clear about this in the 2014-15 budgetary allocation of $480. 5 million to this reform . Flagged in the Customs Blueprint for reform: 2013-18 are : enforcement of the establishment of a strategic border command ; an acquisition of six vessels suitable for inshore and costal operations; reform on trade and travel , including a new 'trusted trader' framework; and the consolidation of Customs in to the D epartment of I mmigration and B order P rotection , as well as the establishment of the A ustralian B order F orce . Of the $480.5 millio n, $98.9 million, $70.9 million and $53.6 million have been allocated respectively. The further $256.6 million is allocated for intelligence and systems, including new capabilities to support the Na tional Border Targeting Centre. These are bound to be of great assistance to the g overnment, to the D epartment of I mmigration and B order P rotection and to the A ustralian B order F orce in securing our borders .

W e all know that addressing the key concerns identified by the populace and the g overnment is of national interest, and something the c oalition is devoted to. Since the coalition government was elected , we have strived to spend responsibly and to ensure that funding is not wasted on maintaining a separate agency that performs the same functions. Having two separate agencies whose services overlap is not sustainable for either the objective of the departments or for tax payer s' funds.

The Australian Border Force will draw together the operational border s , investigations, compliance, detention and enforcement functions of the two existing agencies— the Department of Immigration and Border Protection with the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. This key amalgamation of policy, regulatory and corporate function s with the broader department will create a more effective approach to Australia's b orders. T he provisions mentioned in this b ill today send a strong signal that mis conduct at our national borders will not be tolerated. Strengthening our borders contribute s to a safer nation for communities and a better society.

I hope members opposite will join members on this side of the House in supporting this vital bil l to ensure the viability and i ntegrity of our border security. This framework is of paramount interest to the government and all the important personnel working across these departments. We must ensure that the framework we have is updated and modified according to new risks imposed by external factors and that we mitigate risk to our citizens appropriately.

The reforms presented through this bill will ensure that this government continues in its approach to ensuring that the economy i s drawn back into surplus, whilst ensuring that the protection of our borders and those within them . I commend this bill to the House.

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