Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, in December 2015, you announced two new high-performance vessels would be delivered to Cairns in September 2016. We have seen September come and go, and, clearly, no vessels have been delivered—another broken promise. It was recently revealed that the delivery of those vessels would be delayed till mid-2017. The federal member for Leichhardt was quoted in a WIN News Cairns interview as saying, concerning these vessels: 'I've checked on it to find there have been some production glitches.'

The role of the Australian Border Force is significant in the region, particularly in Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait, ensuring the border is protected and that illegal fishers cannot exploit our waters—not to mention the other roles the Australia Border Force play. Minister, I am keen for you to explain to the people of Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait: what were those production glitches, will those glitches impact on the effectiveness of the vessels, what was the cost of these vessels and will the delays result in additional expenses? The two vessels are being produced in the United States of America. Has the department purchased other vessels from the company in the United States before? What operations were those two vessels to undertake, precisely? Has the delay in delivering these two vessels resulted in any gaps in the Australian Border Force network in Far North Queensland, North Queensland or the Torres Strait? If so, how is that gap being managed?

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