Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the member for Wright's contribution. He is a frequent contributor on the national security debate and he certainly spoke a lot of sense on the importance of stronger borders. Like the member for Wright, I also welcome the opportunity to make a contribution on the Australian Border Force Bill 2015, and cognate bill, which establishes the role of the Australian Border Force Commissioner and enables the operation of the Australian Border Force.

By any measure, it is an initiative that adds further lustre to the government's significant achievements when it comes to border protection policy during the last 18 months. This bill contributes to the sort of unity of purpose and unity of operational command which this House must support in what is a complex and vitally important area of public policy.

It has been almost a year since the government announced fundamental reform of Australia's border protection arrangements on 9 May 2014, in particular the intent to integrate the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service into a single department and to establish the Australian Border Force from 1 July this year. It is a vital piece of legislation, because, when we refer to Australia's border, we are talking about protecting vast national assets. Australia, in simple terms, is the world's largest island—a maritime nation with an enormous challenge. Our country is roughly the size of the continental United States, with a population around the same size as that of the state of Texas. We are the only country that occupies a complete continent, the world's smallest continent, and the sixth-largest country by total area—about 7.7 million square miles. Only Russia, Canada, China, the United States and Brazil are bigger. So ensuring security on our borders is an enormous job and a vital strategic task.

By any measure, when we came to government, the coalition was confronted with an appalling mess on our borders—bad policy, disaggregated interagency responses and poor outcomes in relation to border protection. As someone who has spent over three decades involved in defence, security, international and interagency operations, what we were confronted with when we came to government after the September 2013 election just was not good enough. This bill makes a significant difference. It builds on lessons learned and ensures that Australia's border is much better protected into the years and decades ahead. The bill establishes the Australian Border Force and includes provisions to support the management of the workforce, to implement aspects of the professional integrity framework, to establish information protection requirements and to establish provisions to deal with serious misconduct.

The bill facilitates the consolidation of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service into the Australian Border Force, which is a once-in-a-generation reform. It is expected to generate $180 million in efficiencies over the forward estimates, with rolling efficiencies of around $100 million per year after that. With this reform and other measures, including the rolling of the Australian Agency for International Development into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with the First Principles Review of the Department of Defence and with a range of other organisational efficiencies we are considering, this government is acting to ensure that we live by the smaller government and savings culture that the Australian people expect and deserve.

There is a lot more I could say to build on the case that my colleagues have made, but, in the interests of time and ensuring that others have the opportunity to speak, I will just say couple of other things before handing over.

It is, after all, in the interests of regional nations to work together to understand and cooperate more closely and consistently towards the goal of a safe and secure region. Hundreds of millions of dollars in savings and cooperating with our regional neighbours are just some of the things that will result from the creation of the Australian Border Force. All of the efficiencies that we are making are going to be reinvested to create an intelligence-led, mobile, technology-enabled force, operating under a Strategic Border Command, ensuring our assets and resources are deployed to greatest effect. This bill refocuses our border protection effort and addresses a range of highly adaptive adversaries who seek to exploit our borders. Importantly, this legislation responds to the expected substantial increase in travellers and goods crossing our borders over the next four years, against a backdrop of more complex cargo supply chains and passenger routes.

I have seen estimates of 85 per cent growth in air cargo consignments, 20 per cent growth in sea cargo and a 25 per cent lift in international travellers. At the same time, we must tackle the ever-increasing threat posed by serious and organised transnational crime. So the government is seeking to ensure that we have the capability at our borders to handle this growth effectively and efficiently. At a time when there are growing concerns about threats on our borders, the new Border Force also to helps optimise our law enforcement and national security capabilities, to help us stay ahead of the transnational and organised crime syndicates that seek to exploit any weakness in Australia's border arrangements.

I wrote about this issue last July in an article published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute titled 'Australia and the Regional Terrorist Threat.' It was an article written in the context of regional citizens subordinating their duty to their own countries, to go to the Middle East and take up arms with one militant group or another. I spoke about the threat posed by South-East Asian fighters who go to Syria or Iraq and then return to regional transnational organisations like Jemaah Islamiah in Indonesia and the Abu Sayyaf Group in the Philippines. Given the relative weakness of institutional structures in some regional nations, the freedom of action that those committed and up-skilled fighters enjoy is reason for great concern. In Australia's case, that is because of the enormous number of Australians and other Westerners who transit and/or holiday in our region each year.

When we consider border security, there are a vast array of other threats we need to consider beyond those posed by transnational terrorists. Maintaining security on our borders for legitimate trade, travel and migration is a core responsibility of the Australian government, which we must take seriously. So I am pleased to see that this legislation responds to the growing threat on our borders, reflecting our relatively stronger institutional structures compared to those in some of our regional neighbours. It is also pleasing to see that the Australian Border Force will not operate alone. It will work in close collaboration with national security, defence, law enforcement and intelligence partners domestically and overseas to deliver a secure border. It is, after all, in the interests of regional nations to work to understand and cooperate more closely and consistently towards the goal of a safe and stable region. That is what the Australian Border Force will do. It will bring together the people, the capabilities and the systems to protect our border and facilitate the lawful passage of people and goods. It will enhance our unity of purpose between agencies that address the threats I have mentioned, by enabling the full integration of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection into a single department of state.

This is not a revolutionary idea, with the United States, through its Department of Homeland Security, and other reforms by the United Kingdom Home Office. We are similarly trying to ensure that our response options for a safer border are integrated and coordinated. We have considered these overseas experiences closely and have taken into account what has worked well internationally, while ensuring that we incorporate the unique challenges confronting Australia. Without this legislation, immigration and customs officers will not be able to counter the challenges and threats posed by increased volumes of travellers, traders and migrants, against the backdrop of consistent and complex security threats.

In terms of its reach, the Australian Border Force encompasses not only those who are on the front line of our air and sea borders but also those important enablers of capability—the people who detect, investigate and enforce compliance in relation to illicit goods and illegal visitors. This includes management of detention facilities and the removal of noncitizens who do not have a right to remain in Australia. It also includes overseas staff in operational roles with our regional partners to help secure Australia's maritime zone, to prevent and deter illegal arrivals, and to impede the movement of prohibited goods.

Let me conclude by saying that our Australian customs and border protection officials experience numerous challenges at our borders. This bill helps them respond to those challenges in a more integrated and coordinated way which accentuates unity of purpose and unity of command in an operational sense. I strongly commend this bill to the House.

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