Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Ellison, Minister for Justice and Customs. How does the minister explain the sudden appearance near our northern shores of the 80-metre ghost ship Jian Seng? How is it that an unmanned tanker, drifting aimlessly, can penetrate the Howard government’s weak border protection system totally unchallenged? Why did the Howard government take almost a full day to intercept the ghost ship? Can the minister confirm whether this was part of the support fleet for the flotilla of illegal fishing vessels that are plundering our fish stocks? How did this unmanned tanker manage to outsmart the Howard government in the zone targeted for illegal fishing?