George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Home Affairs, Senator Wong. Why did the government reject the submission of the minister responsible for the Australian Customs Service, Mr Debus, to upgrade the Customs fleet of patrol boats?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not sure what submission the senator is referring to. If the submission relates to cabinet processes then obviously I am not going to respond to that question. I would mention that the Prime Minister today, in his national security statement, made clear the importance and the priority we as a government continue to place on Australian border security. In the national security statement he put forward the initiative in relation to customs and border protection, which is an augmented Australian Customs and Border Protection Service with the capability to task and analyse intelligence, coordinate surveillance and on-water responses and engage internationally. This service will report to the Minister for Home Affairs and represents, yet again, this government’s commitment to securing our borders and to ensuring that we have a strong Customs and Border Protection Service here in Australia.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I refer the minister to the national security statement delivered by the Prime Minister in the other place this morning. I remind the minister that the national security statement contains no commitment whatever to expand or upgrade the Customs fleet. I refer the minister, however, to the centrepiece of the Prime Minister’s new border protection strategy, which is that the Australian Customs Service will be renamed the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. Would the minister care to explain how simply renaming the Australian Customs Service without upgrading or expanding its fleet or capabilities will strengthen border protection?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Through you, Mr President, the senator has made a number of assertions. I remind him that, since coming to office, the government has increased funding to our law enforcement and border protection agencies to better target and respond to threats and funded new capacity-building initiatives throughout the region to develop the border protection and immigration systems of our neighbours. As I said, the Prime Minister made the point in his national security statement that this government inherited a wide range of government agencies that lacked unified control, direction and a single point of accountability. The Prime Minister has made clear that the government has therefore decided to move quickly to better enable our Customs Service to meet the resurgent threat to border integrity, and it is in this context that the initiative to retask and augment the Australian Customs Service in the context of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service is being put forward. (Time expired)

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Does the minister not agree that giving Customs the additional patrol boats it needs would be a more effective border protection strategy than giving Customs a different title? Would a larger fleet not be more useful than a longer name? Particularly in view of the $51.5 million cut to Customs announced by the Prime Minister in May, why has Labor gone soft on border protection?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The senator knows that this government regards Australia’s national security as being of the highest priority and will continue to ensure that we have a strong and effective border security strategy. The Prime Minister’s national security statement makes it very clear that we will continue to ensure a strong border protection strategy and an Australian Customs and Border Protection Service that will have the capability to task and analyse intelligence, coordinate surveillance and on-water response, and engage internationally with both source and transit countries to comprehensively address and deter people smuggling. So these are the measures the government is taking. There has been no diminution of operational capability, and I say again that this is a government committed to ensuring the security of Australia’s borders.