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

My question is to the Minister for Justice and Customs and relates to the minister’s continual claims over the past two months that ‘the AFP has had no trouble in recruiting people’. Is the minister aware that last night in a Senate committee hearing the AFP admitted that it fell short of its target by 452 personnel last year? Doesn’t this follow shortfalls of 83 personnel in 2003-04 and 123 in 2004-05? Isn’t it the case that many of the shortfalls are in specialist jobs in forensics and intelligence, critical in the fight against terrorism and organised crime? Given this evidence, can the minister indicate whether he stands by his earlier claims that ‘the AFP has had no trouble in recruiting’?

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

Senator Ludwig should get the quote right. I said that the AFP had no trouble getting quality people to sign up. Let us look at the evidence given by the commissioner last night. He stated that, in July-September this year, 218 new staff commenced with the AFP and that there were plans for a further 737 for the remainder of the financial year. That totals just under 1,000 new staff for the AFP in this financial year. And all of those good people—good men and women—are going to work in the Australian Federal Police. That is record recruiting when you look at the history of the Australian Federal Police. It is something that those opposite should remember.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Chris Evans interjecting—

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

Senator Evans is interjecting now. He should remember that in 1996-97 the funding for the Australian Federal Police was not even $200 million per annum. Under the Howard government, in 2006-07 it is over $846 million a year. That is the resourcing that we are giving to the AFP.

Let me look at the targeting of the Australian Federal Police. Of course, with deployments to Papua New Guinea, where we had a large number of police deployed—and that was part of our forecast—we had the Wenge decision which caused us to withdraw our police and change our complete approach to Papua New Guinea. In fact, it changed our forecasting. When you look at the figure that Senator Ludwig has mentioned, it relates to Papua New Guinea and the aviation sector. The vast majority of that 450-odd figure is in the aviation sector and Papua New Guinea, which did not go ahead because of the Wenge decision. In relation to the aviation sector, we are working with the states and territories to have policing at our airports. We have put in place the airport commanders. We have got our joint intelligence teams; we have got our intelligence groups with Customs and others—

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

When are you going to have them in place?

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

Order!

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

What we are putting in place in a progressive way is community policing at airports. That accounts for a large number of that.

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

When are you going to have all the staff in place?

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

When Senator Ludwig asks, ‘When is all that going to happen?’ he should address that to the Labor governments of the states and territories that we are dealing with.

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

Senator Ludwig interjecting—

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

I tell you what, Tasmania has got its act together.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Order! Those on my left, it is your question. At least listen in some sort of quietness so the minister can make an attempt to answer it. I ask you to come to order.

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

In the last financial year, with the exception of Tasmanian police at Hobart airport, there was no other state that contributed staff. It was always on the basis that we would work with the states and territories in policing the airports. We had a large number of police to take up those roles, and that has been worked through with the states and territories.

In relation to staffing figures, the Senate might be interested to know that on 30 June 1996 the staffing numbers, including ACT police, were 2,807. Today they are 4,073. This does not even include the APS, which takes the number up to 5½ thousand personnel involved in AFP policing in this country and overseas. The opposition needs to get a hold of itself and look at the history. We have stood by the Australian Federal Police. We have more than tripled funding and we have increased greatly the staff numbers in relation to the Australian Federal Police, both sworn and unsworn. It is in stark contrast to the absolute neglect of the Australian Federal Police under the Hawke and Keating governments.

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. Does the minister recall saying in question time on 11 September 2006—and he averred to it in his answer—the Australian Federal Police:

… have had no trouble whatsoever in getting quality people to sign up.

Isn’t it now clear that this claim was both false and in complete contradiction to the experience of the Australian Federal Police? Will the minister now stop blustering and do his job by tackling the serious staffing issues in the AFP?

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

I will say it again: we have just recruited over 200 quality people, and we are about to recruit, in the remainder of this financial year, in excess of 700 quality people. That is record recruiting under the Howard government which never existed under the Hawke and Keating governments. According to the evidence of the police commissioner, the AFP has in excess of 2,000 people who want to join the Australian Federal Police. When the AFP advertises a position, it is oversubscribed because of the great reputation the Australian Federal Police enjoys in the community.