Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

There are great motivations for foreign nationals to seek to enter Australia's borders, chief among them being financial. Australia's GDP per capita, as reported by the World Bank in 2013, amounted to US$67,468 in nominal terms. The GDP per capita in Australia is equivalent to 297 percent of the world's average. Australians generally have a standard of living equivalent to three times higher than the world's average, making our nation a very attractive destination. That is why we need to protect our borders: to safeguard the living standards of Australian citizens.

I support the Customs and Other Legislation Amendment (Australian Border Force) Bill 2015, which repeals the Customs Administration Act 1985 and amends a number of other Commonwealth acts, including the Customs Act 1901, and the related bill.

The bill essentially provides for the integration of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection with the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service into a single department, and the establishment of the Australian Border Force. The Australian Border Force is designed to be a front line operational border control and enforcement entity that is part of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. The proposed new arrangements are due to commence operation on 1 July 2015.

As a result of this bill, there will be a number of changes to organisational arrangements and statutory roles within the department. Most notably, the current Australian Customs and Border Protection Service will be abolished as a statutory agency when the new act commences. The statutory office of the Australian Border Force Commissioner will be created, deriving his or her official powers and functions from a number of other Commonwealth acts, including the Customs Act 1901, the Migration Act 1958 and the Maritime Powers Act 2013. The ABF commissioner will have a dual role as Comptroller-General of Customs, with responsibility for the administration and enforcement of the Customs Act 1901, including collection of border related revenue.

It is envisaged that in enforcing Customs, immigration and maritime security laws, the Australian Border Force will work in close cooperation with Commonwealth, state, territory and international law enforcement and intelligence agencies, including the Australian Defence Force and the Australian Federal Police.

Integrating the currently separate functions of immigration and Customs into one entity is expected to generate $180 million in operating efficiencies over the forward estimates, yielding future projected savings of approximately $100 million annually. By removing unnecessary duplication of staff and responsibilities, the deployment of a greater proportion of resources into the front line can be achieved. The consolidation of human resources, organisational systems and capability is designed to promote synergy based on sound principles, strategies and operations in an integrated way. This management model is based on similar best practices in the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Home Office in the United Kingdom with key elements adapted and implemented to suit Australian conditions.

This bill also contains consequential amendments to reflect new organisational arrangements and a professional integrity framework. Provisions in the bill extend the jurisdiction of the Australian law enforcement Integrity Commissioner to enable the investigation of any allegations of law enforcement corruption within the department.

The magnitude of the task of monitoring our borders on a vast geographical scale defies comprehension. Australia's extensive economic exclusion zone covers 8.1 million square kilometres. We have a sparsely populated continent with a significant number of remote towns with only basic port and airport facilities, without the advanced security found in capital cities. It is in this context that the logistics of monitoring our borders and controlling the international flow of passengers and goods represents a massive undertaking for Australian Customs and Border Protection agencies. The challenges faced by our Customs and Border Protection agencies is compounded by the vastness of the Australian continent, covering an area of more than 7.6 million square kilometres, with a total coastline length of 35,876 kilometres, an additional 23,859 kilometres of island coastlines and some 758 remote estuaries around the country at which vessels may land.

To provide some context of the scale of operations of Australian Customs, Australian Customs have, in the seven months to 31 January 2015 in the current financial year, processed around 23.1 million passengers through Australian airports; processed over 837,000 passengers arriving at or departing from Australian ports; inspected over 1.3 million air cargo consignments; inspected over 69,000 sea container units of 20 foot equivalent; and inspected more than 38 million international mail items. This represents a significant workload.

The anticipated future increase in the flow of passengers and goods across international borders has been brought about by increased international trade with emerging economies in our region facilitated by free trade agreements with Japan, Korea and China. Trade is projected to continue expanding as a free trade agreement is expected to be reached with India. As Australia develops stronger economic partnerships with the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN—including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam—our Customs service must be adequately prepared and resourced to cope with future increased demands at all entry points to Australia. By improving our border protection capabilities to intercept contraband and the smuggling of illegal cargo, such as drugs, weapons and food stuffs subject to quarantine, we are able to combat international crime, preserve the biosecurity of our agricultural sector and promote greater national security. The proposed bill proposes a range of initiatives to boost our law enforcement and national security capability to combat transnational organised crime syndicates seeking to infiltrate the Australian border.

I cite three recent cases of successful Customs interceptions as examples of the growing threat of drug smuggling. On 19 November 2014, the second largest drugs seizure in Australian history occurred, with 2.8 tonnes of methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA—commonly known as ecstasy—and other methamphetamines seized, with an estimated street value of approximately $1.5 billion, shipped from Hamburg in Germany. Similarly, in an operation which began on 8 February 2015, Australian Federal Police and Australian Customs and Border Protection officers seized more than 100 kilograms of methamphetamines with an estimated street value of approximately $65 million in a container from China declared to contain children's toys. And, at the beginning March 2015, earlier this month, six individuals were arrested and 230 kilograms of liquid methamphetamines, together with a further 250 kilograms of cocaine, was seized in two countries as a result of a major joint agency investigation into an international organised crime syndicate based in Bogota in Colombia.

Australia is an attractive destination for organised criminals and international fugitives due to our comparatively lenient judicial system. Sentences for committing serious crimes in other countries are typically much more severe than in Australia, often attracting longer terms of imprisonment and in some cases capital punishment. A report into organised crime by the Australian Crime Commission released in 2013 conservatively estimates that organised crime costs Australia $15 billion annually.

I refer to a report titled Australia's migration trends 2012-13, published by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Statistics contained within the report indicate that non-compliance with visa conditions is a serious problem for the Australian Government and is part of a growing trend which appears to be increasing in frequency. In 2012-13 there were 13,486 compliance related departures, commonly known as deportations, from Australia. The department facilitated the departure of people, who had no entitlement to remain in Australia, through assisted voluntary returns, monitored departures and removal under section 198 of the Migration Act 1958. Circumstances included people who had overstayed their visas; persons who were refused a further visa or had their visa cancelled, including those whose visas were cancelled on the basis of their criminal conduct; and the crews of vessels caught illegally fishing in Australian waters.

As at 30 June 2013, it was estimated that approximately 62,700 people were in Australia unlawfully following the expiration or cancellation of their visa. These persons are classed as unlawful noncitizens and remain at large in the community, in many cases working illegally, not paying income taxes and involved in organised crime syndicates.

Furthermore, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection had justifiable cause to cancel 37,926 visas in the 2012-13 year. The government has a responsibility to the Australian community to protect our national borders and ensure the orderly assessment and screening of entrants to Australia to ensure that only authorised persons are permitted to enter our country. Prospective entrants must undergo background checks of their health, police clearance, character and identity before being allowed to enter Australian ports and airports. The cost to the Australian taxpayer, law enforcement and the justice system is enormous when foreign nationals commit offences on the scale outlined earlier with 37,926 visa cancellations and 13,486 deportations in 2012-13. The government is being justifiably cautious and careful about who is permitted to enter and stay in Australia.

For the reasons outlined, it is important for the government to protect the Australian border and maintain effective control over the movements of authorised persons and goods. As former Prime Minister John Howard famously said in 2001:

We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come.

Maintaining effective control over our borders is essential for national security and protecting the living standards of Australian citizens. There is little point in having a planned migration program and stringent laws regulating goods, narcotics, weapons and quarantine if we cannot maintain the integrity of our borders from illegal entry.

In summary, this bill proposes a range of measures designed to facilitate the work of our border protection personnel in their detection, investigation, compliance and enforcement operations in relation to goods and persons entering Australian territory. This bill also facilitates operational cooperation with regional partners beyond our borders and in Australia's maritime zone to prevent illegal arrivals of persons and smuggling of prohibited goods. The integrated approach has proved a success with Operation Sovereign Borders in stopping the people smuggling trade.

I commend the bill to the House.

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