Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all of the speakers who have contributed to this bill. I thank the member for Grey. He has a lot of passion for his local area and I very much appreciate the representations that he and other colleagues have made to me in relation to this very important issue.

The Australian government's first priority is and always will be to keep Australian safe and secure. Aviation is an enduring and attractive target for terrorists, and this was evidenced in July 2017 by the disrupted attack in Sydney which would have seen a bomb exploded on an A380 flight to the Middle East. The planned attack marked a significant shift in the threat and risk to our aviation sector, demonstrating a level of sophistication not seen before in our country. This bill was introduced to ensure that Australia's security framework remains responsive to the evolving threat environment while maintaining security requirements that are commensurate with risk.

Currently all security regulated aviation industry participants are required to prepare a comprehensive and bespoke TSP regardless of the differences in the size, sophistication or complexity of their operations. This places a higher administrative burden on smaller industry participants that often operate in regional Australia. The bill today will enable the secretary of the Department of Home Affairs to give a model transport security program, or TSP, to a lower risk aviation operator. Introducing a model TSP for these industry participants will maintain security outcomes while reducing the costs and administrative burden of preparing a bespoke TSP. This will allow industry participants such as smaller regional airports to direct their finite resources towards implementing and maintaining robust security measures.

The measures in this bill demonstrate the government's commitment to maintaining a sustainable aviation sector while ensuring Australia remains a trusted destination for trade and travel. I thank members again for their contribution to this debate, and I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

See this speech in context