Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In the infamous horror budget of 2014, the former Prime Minister and member for Warringah cut resources for the Australian Federal Police at Hobart Airport, aided and abetted by the Tasmanian Liberal senators and the former three Liberal backbench amigos—and you'll notice they're not here anymore. This cut meant the AFP was forced to withdraw 27 police officers from the state. I note the irony of the party of decentralisation from Canberra to the regions cutting resources from regional Australia. Like so many other cuts, whether axing ATO or CSIRO jobs in Tasmania, this government claims to support the regions, but its actions say otherwise.

But it's not just Hobart Airport that is impacted by this cut. Tasmania Police have been forced to take up the roles left by the AFP. Tasmania Police have been forced to review their operations and allocate the necessary resources to fill this gap. Clearly this reallocation will come not just from Hobart but from all over the state. The AFP Association has warned that the absence of AFP at Hobart Airport will lead to Tasmania becoming the open-slather destination for international drug traffickers when international flights commence.

Why should Tasmanians' safety be compromised by the Abbott-Turnbull government cutting Federal Police from Hobart Airport? There are over 6½ thousand AFP officers nationally. How is it right or fair that this government treats Tasmania as a backwater, as a second-class state of the Commonwealth? (Time expired)

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