Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, I present the committee's report, entitled Inquiry into the adequacy of aviation and maritime security measures to combat serious and organised crime. Since September 2009, the committee on law enforcement has been examining the security of Australia's aviation and maritime sectors. Specifically, the committee has been inquiring into whether our current security arrangements are adequate in the face of this threat from criminal networks, particularly at our airports and seaports. Overall, the committee received a large amount of information and evidence pointing to the ongoing penetration of our airports and seaports by organised crime. The committee is deeply concerned about the level of organised criminal activity occurring in our aviation and maritime sectors.

A key driver for this criminal activity continues to be the illicit profits made from the importation of drugs. The committee heard that a kilo of cocaine, perhaps sourced from a country such as Colombia, might be purchased for a few thousand dollars but has a wholesale price in Australia of around $300,000, with a street price of $1 million—quite a lucrative proposition. As the majority of illicit drugs are sourced overseas, either in their final form or as precursor chemicals, this lucrative trade leads to corruption at our main points of entry. Regrettably, there are a small number of individuals working within the aviation and maritime sectors, either recruited or placed by criminal networks, and they play a disproportionately large role in successful criminal activity.

The current security regime in the aviation and maritime sectors was introduced post September 11 and in our opinion is far too narrowly focused on the threat of terrorist attacks within these sectors. While the committee agrees that such security measures are vital for the safety of the community, I believe that the security regime should be extended to defend against the threat of organised crime. This is in line with this government's 2008 National Security Statement, which identified serious and organised crime as a threat to national security.

A key recommendation is the strengthening of the aviation and maritime security identification card schemes. During the course of the inquiry the committee became aware that a number of individuals known to be closely involved with criminal activity continue to hold these cards, allowing them free access to sensitive areas. As such, the committee has recommended that such individuals could have their cards revoked on the basis of compelling criminal intelligence. Further changes to the ASIC and MSIC schemes recommended by the committee include their expansion to cover important elements of the supply chain outside of airport or seaport environments and the introduction of biometric information to simplify and strengthen the management of the system.

The committee also spent considerable time examining the law enforcement response to organised crime in the aviation and maritime sectors and the importance of criminal intelligence. Apart from targeted police operations, intelligence is useful at a strategic level, to build a picture of criminality that allows not just reactive intervention but also proactive prevention. The committee is therefore keen to see an enhanced analytical use of intelligence from all sources and supports ongoing efforts that would allow such a 'fusion' to take place. The committee has been encouraged by the development of joint agency task forces that exist now in a number of states and has recommended that these be applied in all jurisdictions. State based task forces should be supplemented by an AFP led flying squad that would direct a joint agency response to trouble spots on an ongoing basis as needed.

Importantly, the committee has recom­mended a number of enhancements to the air passenger environment. Organised crime figures are currently able to travel under false identities with impunity while facilitating criminal activity. In response, the committee has recommended that travelling under a false identity be made an offence. In addition, the committee has also recommended that the provision of photo identification by passengers be made mandatory prior to boarding a plane. Serious and organised crime continues to threaten Australia's community and is estimated to cost the national economy more than $15 billion each year. We must continually adapt to this ever-evolving threat. I commend the report to the House.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is my pleasure to follow the member for Fowler in speaking on the Joint Committee on Law Enforcement's inquiry into the adequacy of aviation and maritime security measures to combat serious and organised crime. I endorse a lot of what he had to say. Even though I was not a participant on this committee from the outset like he was, I certainly was on the committee long enough to understand that serious and organised crime remains a substantial threat to our ports and to our airports. As he noted, the security environment around airports and ports has changed markedly since 11 September 2001 with those momentous events in New York and Washington. Subsequently, criminals managed to adapt to the new measures that governments took to more adequately protect our ports and our airports. So getting border security right remains on ongoing process.

Criminals seek to do harm to our society and I certainly agree with the government's assessment that organised criminality remains a very serious national security risk. They are constantly probing for weakness within our border security systems. Sadly, even though the government identifies the problem correctly, it has responded to it with budget cuts to our border protection agencies, which means that Australia remains seriously exposed to a lot of these ongoing threats. This has very serious ramifications for the way we experience law and order on our streets, because the Commonwealth itself is failing to do what it should do—that is, adequately police our borders. Our border protection crisis is far more than just people being smuggled here illegally via Indonesia; our border protection crisis also extends to the fact that there is now so little screening of cargo that is coming in through our ports and our airports because of substantial budget cuts by this government and also because of the lack of resourcing to Customs and Border Protection in particular.

I will just turn briefly to the report in the limited time that I have. I would like to thank all of the members and senators on the committee, who worked very closely together in preparing what is a bipartisan report. Some of that credit must go to the chairman of the committee, Senator Steve Hutchins, who is retiring, so I am sure he will not mind if I very briefly say something nice about him. He did do a wonderful job as chair. As Chair of the Joint Committee on Law Enforcement and its predecessor committee, he did have a history of bringing down reports that were supported by everybody on those committees. As we know, in this place that is not always that easy to do. It is a credit to his stewardship that this committee report was able to reflect that also. All members were prepared to put their stamp on this committee report and I think it makes recommendations that the opposition would certainly like to see the government seriously consider.

I will just turn briefly to a couple of them. Recommendation 7 is the one that seems to have received most of the publicity. It reads:

The committee recommends that it be made a legal requirement to provide photo identification confirming passenger identity immediately prior to boarding an aircraft.

This report does have the endorsement of all the members of the committee, although I must say that I do have some reservations about further inconveniencing passengers. I think it is always important to try to find ways that we can enhance border security and make it harder for the criminals without making it more difficult for passengers when they travel.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I hate to inform the member for Stirling that the time allocated for statements on this report has expired. Does the member for Fowler wish to move a motion in connection with the report to enable it to be debated on a later occasion?

Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House take note of the report.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 39, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.