Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to also talk today on the Aviation Transport Security Amendment (2009 Measures No. 1) Bill 2009. Security at our airports in Australia, whether they be metropolitan or regional, is of great importance. The aviation sector is a key contributor to the Australian economy. It is in many respects the lifeline of rural and regional Australia, where I am a local member, as is the previous speaker, the member for Riverina. The coalition believes it is integral to maintain high standards in order that we compete in a marketplace that has evolving environmental, safety and security standards. More than any other country, Australia’s economic prosperity is closely tied to the health and the competitiveness of the country’s aviation sector. This is due to the vast distances within Australia between this continent and the rest of the world. ABS statistics show that Australia has the world’s 55th largest population and the 15th largest economy but it manages 11 per cent of the world’s air space, second only to the United States. Aviation specific businesses contributed $6,427 million towards Australia’s total GDP in 2007-08. As at August 2008, they employed 48,800 staff.

Undoubtedly since the events of September 11, 2001 the importance placed on the airport security apparatus, specifically passenger screening and security checks, has increased markedly. To address the new and evolving security threats of the 21st century, the former coalition government invited aviation expert Sir John Wheeler to undertake a review of aviation security in Australia. The subsequent Wheeler report, released in 2005, made 17 recommendations, including recommendations for regional airports. Following the report’s release, the then federal government implemented all 17 of those recommendations. The Sydney Airport incident which involved a violent confrontation between members of the Hell’s Angels and Commancheros motorcycle clubs on 27 March this year does, however, demonstrate that this government has more work to do on airport security.

Sir John Wheeler noted in his 2005 review that a large measure of the uncertainty surrounding everyday security in criminal matters in airports is caused by a disconnect between those units charged with counterterrorism first response responsibilities and those who have the tasks of community policing and of investigating crime. The Australian Federal Police Protective Service officers performing the counterterrorism first response role do so, in the judgment of the review panel, with varying degrees of competence and professionalism. But many at airports expect more of them and cannot understand why these uniformed officers do not participate fully in handling crime or breaches of the peace. The fact that the AFP Protective Service uniforms display ‘Police’ on jackets and caps reinforces in the minds of the public the belief that these are regular police officers. But in terms of their constitution and powers they are not, and therein lies the difficulty. As well as having a visible police presence at the airports, it is just as important to ensure that there are sufficient police numbers, including sworn police. Paul Maley reported in the Australian on 19 March 2009 in his article ‘Airport security still lacks force’:

The Police Federation of Australia yesterday said low police numbers and divided responsibility between the states and commonwealth was putting commuter and public safety at risk. … “We (also) understand the numbers have deteriorated further since June 2008,” Mr Burgess said. “In other words, the major airports are understaffed with sworn police by a staggering 35 per cent or more.”

Mr Maley goes on to report:

In the Police Federation’s submission to the Transport Department’s green paper into the aviation sector, Mr Burgess said that as of June 2008, 233 state and territory police officers have been seconded to Australia’s airports—124 short of the 2005 COAG commitment and 101 short of the subsequent reviewed commitment.

I understand the Police Federation has been receiving anecdotal reports that the number of police at the airports has declined since then. In true tradition of Labor breaking election promises since this government came to office, 199 Australian Federal Police members have been made redundant. This is despite a Rudd government promise to bolster the force with an additional 500 members. Time is running out for those additional promised 500 members.

The incident at Sydney Airport, while most unfortunate, probably partly demonstrated that we do not have sufficient numbers of sworn police and that the secondment of state police to the AFP and the interaction between sworn Federal Police and Protective Service officers in similar uniforms have added to an allusion that the public is protected when the reality is quite different. Our major airports are understaffed, as I said, by a staggering 35 per cent. As at June 2008, the AFP had 233 state and territory sworn police officers seconded to work at the major airports. This falls short of the COAG commitment of 357 officers for major airports and 101 short of the reviewed commitment. The airport security awareness training program, Operation Hawkeye, which was supposed to be implemented in 2007, I am advised was shelved also indefinitely by this government.

Air cargo is an important part of Australia’s international and domestic trade. It is a vital part of the aviation industry and a contributor to our economy to the tune of $28 billion in 2007-08. Approximately 80 per cent of Australian domestic cargo is carried on passenger aircraft. The coalition, when in government, worked hard to ensure security risks were minimised in the air cargo screening regime. Australia’s aviation security system uses a combination of examination methods at various points along the cargo supply chain. The government in their last budget slashed $17.1 million over four years from their risk based cargo inspection regime. The CEO of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, Michael Carmody, said that inspections of air cargo consignments would be reduced from 6.2 million to 1.5 million as a result of these cuts. So we will see target inspections for air cargo drop by 4.7 million consignments over this financial year. This decision to cut funds to a vital area of Customs will put strain on staff that are already overstretched and will inevitably lead to more illicit drugs, illegal weapons, biosecurity threats and illegal smuggled wildlife slipping through our borders. It is not good enough to base cargo inspections on a resource factor. It needs to be done purely on a risk basis, which means that if it is required that more than 20 per cent of containers are inspected then that ability should be there—and the resources should be there to allow that to happen.

Intrinsically linked to aviation security and the cargo supply chain is the issue of infiltration of airports by organised criminal groups. Figures from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government reveal that around 10 per cent of the 33,644 people who have applied for an aviation security identification card since October 2008 have been convicted of a crime. Of those, 148 have been denied a security card. So, of the approximately 33,000 who have applied for the card, only 148 have been denied.

As reported in the Age on 25 June 2009 by Nick McKenzie and Linton Besser, a three-year intelligence operation by the Australian Crime Commission has revealed serious weaknesses in the security of ports and airports. The Australian Crime Commission listed in their ‘Crime in the transport sector’ inquiry those that had been investigated by the ACC and other agencies, including associates of outlaw motorcycle gangs and other crime groups who are working at major airports—including the Vice-President of the Outcasts motorcycle gang, who has a Commonwealth security pass and is a Melbourne airport baggage screener—and an executive of an Asian airline who used his security pass to smuggle drug money through secure sites at Melbourne airport and on to an aircraft. McKenzie and Besser reported that the Australian Crime Commission in its three-year probe produced 86 reports of criminality in the airport sector. It is concerning that criminal figures are working at our major airports more than three years after the Wheeler inquiry into airport security called for a thorough overhaul. It has also been reported that ongoing problems at airports, including inadequate screening of casual employees, nepotism when hiring, camera black spots and poor coordination between police and security companies are all contributing to an extremely substandard environment.

I know the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, at the table, will have turned his attention to reports in today’s Fairfax newspapers about security shambles at our ports. While the substance of that article deals with port security, it is clearly noted that there is a still secret review of the aviation security identity card system which has recommended sweeping changes. If that review is with the minister, I suggest that he acts on it fairly swiftly because I would not be surprised if it finds that workers convicted of serious criminal offences have been granted passes to work in security-sensitive areas—airside, in container-loading depots and, as I said, in the most sensitive areas of our airports. While this bill deals with further access for airport security inspectors, the minister would do well to look at the criteria under which the aviation security identification card is issued. There is no point in ramping up security in one area if it remains lax in another. There has been ample evidence demonstrated of that laxity.

The government conceded in their aviation green paper that Sir John Wheeler was correct in his 2005 review that the aviation sector was exploited by criminal groups. I again quote Mark Burgess, from the Police Federation of Australia, who noted in that federation’s submission to the green paper:

As at June 2008, the AFP had 336 State and Territory sworn police officers seconded to it and 233 of those officers were seconded to work at major airports. This falls 124 officers short of the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) commitment…Further, because States and Territories have been unable to meet and maintain all commitments to provide secondees, there were at 30 June 2008, 86 vacancies in the Airport Uniform Police. For example, the three Queensland airports had 37 vacancies, Melbourne had 15, and Sydney had eight vacancies. All up, officers deployed falls short of the COAG commitment by 124 sworn police officers. We understand the numbers have deteriorated further since June 2008. In other words the major airports are understaffed with sworn police by a staggering 35 per cent or more.

It is evident that this Labor government is not serious about securing Australia’s ports or airports. I commend the amending legislation to the House.

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