Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Abetz for the question. Just last week, we saw why Australian governments can never take their eyes off protecting Australia and Australians from organised crime. Operation Ironside is a great example of cooperation between our law enforcement agencies and their overseas counterparts in our ever-constant fight against organised crime networks that target Australia.

Operation Ironside has inflicted significant damage to organised crime networks in Australia. Approximately 9,000 officers globally, including 4,500 from here in Australia, have been involved in this three-year covert operation. The operation has led to hundreds of alleged offenders being charged, over 100 weapons being removed from our streets and over 500 search warrants being executed across Australia. The work done by our law enforcement agencies in this operation has led to police acting on 21 threats to kill, including saving a family of five.

The Morrison government is continuing to invest in supporting the international efforts to combat the ever-growing threat that transnational, serious and organised crime poses to us here in Australia. In the recent budget, the government committed an additional $1 billion to help tackle the risks our community faces from organised crime, criminals and terrorists. This will continue to support the investments our government has made in law enforcement, intelligence and security agencies since first elected in 2013. I'd like to particularly thank, though, the men and women in our law enforcement agencies who work on the frontline each and every day to keep Australians safe.