Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is directed to Senator Ian Campbell, the Minister representing the Minister for Defence. Will the minister advise the Senate of how the government is protecting Australia’s waters from illegal fishermen? Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Payne for a question that is incredibly important not only to protecting Australia’s fisheries, which are of course very valuable, but also to protecting our unique environment. In support of our Customs aircraft and our Customs vessels, as well as our fisheries management authorities, the Royal Australian Navy is providing significant resources for border protection efforts. These efforts are coordinated through a single border protection command, which I understand is working very effectively—the Minister for Justice and Customs nods.

In addition to being able to arrest foreign fishermen breaching the existing provisions of the fisheries management law, if changes to the environment protection act pass the Senate tonight, we will be able in the future to arrest and charge fishermen caught breaching our environment law. We note that the Australian Labor Party and the Greens intend to oppose that measure.

Earlier this year the government announced a further $388.9 million in the budget committed to further enhance border protection to prevent illegal foreign fishing and unlawful arrivals and also to support the protection of our oil and gas platforms. What have the taxpayers got for this money?

This year, apprehensions have increased by 100 per cent and sightings have gone down by 30 per cent. One of the perverse outcomes of this successful investment, however, is that illegal foreign fishermen are now stooping to increasingly desperate tactics to avoid capture and engaging in dangerous tactics which are putting our personnel at risk. Some of these fishermen have prepared for run-ins with our patrol vessels. They are coming prepared with weapons such as sharpened poles, hand-thrown missiles, spears and even samurai swords.

The Minister for Defence has now approved new rules of engagement which, in addition to what our Navy can do already, include the use of capsicum spray, tear gas and distraction explosives and, under certain circumstances, our patrol boats will be able to shoot to disable a vessel which is ignoring orders. We know that the Labor Party disapprove of these measures and will vote these measures down tonight in the Senate. We know that the Greens have raised the white flag in relation to illegal foreign fishermen. This morning in the media, Senator Siewert from the Greens said of these new rules:

I think its an aggressive, over-the-top reaction and it makes me wonder why the government is doing this now.

Senator Siewert is supporting these poachers over the environment and she is being waved on and encouraged by the Australian Labor Party.

The Australian government says that protecting our environment and our fish stocks and having strong border protection laws to protect both of those are very important for Australia, and the powers to arrest and detain these fishermen who come and put our environment at risk are equally important. This should be a bipartisan action. I call on Mr Rudd to change Labor’s policy; otherwise, it might be a new leader, but it is the same old Labor.