Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I want to talk on an important area in terms of Border Force for the people in my home state of Queensland, the same state that the minister hails from. In December 2015, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection announced two new high-performance vessels would be delivered to Cairns in September 2016. These fast-response boats, or FRBs, are designed to speedily intercept illegal fishers and protect our northern borders. Despite the name, the delivery of these vessels has been anything but fast. The immigration minister promised the people of Cairns that these boats would be delivered, and he has broken that promise time and time again.

In September 2016 it was revealed that the delivery of the FRBs would be delayed until mid-2017. At the time, the federal member for Leichhardt was quoted in an interview saying, 'I've checked on it to find there have been some production glitches.' Senate estimates last week then revealed they have been pushed back yet again until the end of this year, meaning they will not hit the water in Cairns until at least a year after they were due. You have broken your promise, Minister.

Labor wants these fast-response boats to be delivered as soon as possible to the north to protect against illegal fishing, to protect the future of the tourism industry and to protect jobs in Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait. Why is the minister incapable of delivering these two boats as he promised? What impact has the failure to deliver these boats had on the ability of the Australian Border Force to stamp out illegal fishing in Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait? What communication has the minister had with the federal member for Leichhardt and, more importantly, with the people of Cairns and the people of the Torres Strait about the prolonged delay of these vessels? When was the minister made aware of the production delays? What step did the minister take to mitigate these production delays? Can the minister guarantee the vessels will be delivered to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection before the end of the year, or will he break his promise yet again? Ultimately, will the minister, with his poor performance and poor attention to detail in his portfolio, accept responsibility for the perpetual delays of the fast-response boats for Cairns and the people of North Queensland and the Torres Strait?

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