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

My question is to Senator Ellison, the Minister for Justice and Customs, and concerns answers he gave to the Senate yesterday. In reference to the ghost ship Jian Seng, the 80-metre unmanned tanker found drifting well inside Australia’s borders, does the minister stand by his claim yesterday where he said:

What this does demonstrate is that we have in place aerial and maritime surveillance to intercept a vessel in these circumstances, and that was done.

How did a massive 80-metre steel hulled tanker manage to evade this brilliant surveillance network? Why did it take the Howard government two weeks to intercept the vessel after it entered Australian waters? And, since the Howard government’s border security is so porous, what actions has the minister undertaken to fix these problems?

Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said on the record yesterday—and that was not in question time but in answer to questions put to me—when the vessel was first sighted on 8 March it was not doing anything illegal. At that stage there was no reason—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

unless the opposition thinks that we should interdict vessels that are not doing anything illegal and that we should interdict and unlawfully board vessels for no reason at all. Maybe that is the way the opposition would do business. I can tell you that Australia abides by its international obligations and the law of this country and the law of the sea. When that vessel was first ascertained, on 8 March, it was not observed to be doing anything unlawful. To say that it drifted for the next 17 days is a leap of speculation on the part of the opposition. Quite frankly, this vessel was sighted at that stage and subsequently, some 17 days later, it was reported as drifting. It was not stated as having drifted for the whole of the 17 days—

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

Senator Ludwig interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senators on my left, including you, Senator Evans, are very disorderly during this question. I would ask you to come to order.

Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For Senator Ludwig to make that assertion is completely without foundation. When there was a report we sent a helicopter out to have a look at the vessel concerned. It did so. We then despatched the Storm Bay, which, as I described yesterday, came alongside the vessel during the hours of darkness and waited for daylight hours before boarding it. We notified AMSA of the vessel, and AMSA took over the operation. And we alerted vessels in the area in relation to any possible hazard in relation to the vessel. That was standard procedure. It was an interdiction which took place by our assets once that information had been received.

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Is it not the case that it was not Customs but a passing Australian barge that in fact spotted the vessel in Australian waters? How can the minister claim to be taken seriously when a drifting unmanned vessel has made a complete goose of his claim to have strong border security? If you cannot spot an 80-metre ship, what is the chance of tackling small fishing vessels that are ripping out our fish stocks?

Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ludwig does not quite appreciate how our system works in relation to the cooperation of other vessels that make sightings and report them to us. But I suppose Senator Ludwig believes that we should not rely on private vessels for sighting. He thinks that fishermen have no role. He thinks that commercial vessels have absolutely no role in looking out for Australia. I can say to Senator Ludwig that I have met with commercial fishermen who believe they do have a role. And we are working with them. We will rely on reports to our hotline and go out and inspect vessels which have been reported to us. We will do that when that is reported to Customs. If we did not do that, Senator Ludwig would be the first to say that we were derelict in our duty. In this case, we dispatched a helicopter immediately and the Storm Bay came alongside hours later. That demonstrates that we have a very good system in place; that vessel has been interdicted and towed into Weipa.