Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise to speak on the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Powers, Offences and Other Measures) Bill 2015. If there is a community that has been particularly affected by crime—and certainly by the perception of crime—and one where crime has had a detrimental impact on the main revenue source for the city, which is predominantly the tourism industry, it would have to be my city of the Gold Coast.

As the federal member for Moncrieff, I take seriously two aspects of my role. One is in relation to the protection of the income the city derives from the tourism industry and the need to safeguard the perceptions of our city—that is to ensure as a city that people's views about holidaying on the Gold Coast are positive ones, that they approach a holiday with enthusiasm and that they know that they will be safe if they choose to have a holiday on the Gold Coast, whether they are a domestic tourist or an international tourist.

The second important aspect of my role as federal member is to stand up for my community and ensure that my community feel safe—that they feel safe in their own homes, that they feel safe with their personal belongings and, in particular, that parents feel safe in the knowledge that their children are not being exposed to a drug culture or indeed, for example, to a culture of forced marriages, which would corrupt and, over time, diminish the strength of the social fabric in our city.

The Gold Coast is an amazing city. It is a wonderful place to raise a family. It is a terrific city that has not only a bright daily outlook in terms of the weather but also a bright outlook in terms of its future. Moving swiftly to ensure that we are able to address concerns in relation to crime is important and something I have been very pleased to be part of.

I regularly host community forums as part of my ongoing commitment to engaging in a meaningful way with the community I have the privilege of representing. I hold forums with my constituents on a regular basis—small business forums, crime forums, town hall meetings—all centred on the importance of engaging, mixing and mingling with my constituents, giving them the platform and the opportunity to put forward their points of view on what should be happening in our community—those aspects they like and those aspects they do not like.

Relatively recently I was pleased to host a crime forum with the Minister for Justice, the Hon. Michael Keenan. Minister Keenan travelled to the Gold Coast and took the time to meet, to mix, to mingle, to hear from and to listen to ordinary Gold Coasters who wanted to raise an array of different issues with him. I did this not only because of the opportunity it provides as a platform for my constituents but also because there was widespread concern and indeed a negative perception, which had been brought to my attention through various media, that the Gold Coast was being overrun by organised criminal gangs.

The previous state LNP Newman government moved swiftly some time ago to introduce the VLAD laws, which were directed towards doing what could be done to crack down on outlaw motorcycle gangs and, more broadly, criminal gangs across the city. It needed to happen. As a result of the decisive action taken by the former Newman government, the city was cleaned up in a fairly short period of time. Having spoken with so many people on the Gold Coast, I have to say there was widespread relief that the decisive action that had been taken made a difference to the feel of the city and thwarted attempts by organised criminal gangs, who more often than not—certainly anecdotally, but I know from speaking with police as well—were the instigators and the distributors of a lot of illegal narcotics.

In that respect, the legislation before the House today builds on the good work that has been done at both state and federal levels. Following some brawling between various outlaw motorcycle gangs, Minister Keenan moved to establish one of the first joint strike forces on the Gold Coast. This sees collaboration between federal and state police officers, and other authorities such as Immigration and the tax office, working in a comprehensive way to ensure that maximum pressure is applied to those who would seek to benefit from engaging in criminal activity and peddling drugs. That was a terrific step forward. The legislation now before the House builds on the solid foundation and the important work that has been undertaken thus far not only in my electorate of Moncrieff but, more importantly, across the city of the Gold Coast.

A great concern that we had was that the previous Labor government took the very short-sighted decision to shut down the Australian Federal Police office on the Gold Coast. It is the sixth largest and fastest growing city in Australia, with a population of more than 500,000 people. I was not literally but figuratively left dumbstruck that a Labor federal government could be so short-sighted as to shut down the Federal Police offices on the Gold Coast. The Federal Police played a crucial role in investigating organised criminal gangs, and Labor walked away from the city. I should not be surprised—it is consistent with the Labor Party, which has absolutely no regard, no inclination, no interest and no time for the Gold Coast. In fact, under successive Labor governments, the only time we saw a federal Labor minister on the Gold Coast was when they travelled there once a year to speak at the annual conference of the Australian Workers Union—or one of the unions—which always takes place on the Gold Coast. For the benefit of the President of the Labor Party, who is in the chamber, can I say that we welcome the Labor Party holding their union conferences on the Gold Coast. We value their business. Notwithstanding that, it is still a great shame that Labor should be so short-sighted. But I guess Labor ministers are but fleeting tourists from time to time.

The legislation before the House is important. It implements tough penalties for gun related crimes. It increases the operation and effectiveness of laws relating to serious drug and precursor offences. It increases penalties for forced marriage offences and ensures our criminal offence regimes are robust and effective. It ensures efficient arrangements for administering criminal law and related provisions. It is part of the coalition government's clear and consistent commitment to tackling crime and to ensuring that our communities across Australia are kept safe, particularly the Gold Coast.

I take local law and order issues on the Gold Coast very seriously. That is why I was pleased not only that we had the joint strike force but that we were able to roll out additional CCTV cameras across the city. The Gold Coast now has one of the widest networks of CCTV cameras. From the many police I have spoken with, as well as the Gold Coast City Council, I know that they play a very effective role not only in cleaning up crime through the ability to get evidence directly from videotapes but also in the prevention of crime, as police and others are able to respond in a proactive way to trouble that might be brewing, thereby ensuring that we prevent assaults and other issues like that from occurring. It is important work and it does require an ongoing substantial commitment from the federal government to make sure our communities are safer. People in communities like Ashmore, Nerang, Southport, Surfers Paradise, Benowa, Broadbeach Waters, Broadbeach, Mermaid Waters and Mermaid Beach want to know that the federal government have some investment in the city. We do. This legislation continues it. I absolutely commend the bill to the House.

Debate interrupted.

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