Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Customs Amendment Bill 2014 makes a number of small amendments to the Customs Act. The amendments are mostly technical—they are not controversial. They aim to improve and strengthen the act that outlines our customs framework. Minister Morrison has proven to be one of the most effective ministers in the Abbott government. He certainly has been one of the most effective immigration and border protection ministers that this country has ever seen. It is through his strong leadership and dedication that the Abbott government has been able to stop the flow of illegal maritime arrivals into Australia. As promised before the last election, we have all but stopped the boats. We are now working on the massive backlog of asylum seekers that the previous Labor government simply stopped processing. It thought that by some magical intervention some solution would appear and fix the mess they had got themselves into. We know what that solution is—it is the Abbott government. Once again we have to fix the mess that the Labor Party left us. We are about getting Australia back on track and providing some certainty especially to those people who were seeking asylum under Labor. Those people were left with no answers and no idea about when their applications for asylum would be processed. Minister Morrison has also proven to be an excellent advocate for Australian customs issues. He is methodically and logically working through bits of the customs legislation and ironing out some of the creases, once again to get things back on track.

My electorate of Solomon covers the cities of Darwin and Palmerston, and we are quite often the front line for on-water Customs operations as well as Customs operations through the Darwin International Airport. Mr Morrison recognises that there is some important work carried out in the Top End and that is why he has visited many times, both before the election and certainly after the election. He has met personally with Customs and Border Protection personnel, and he always seeks their feedback on what is working and what is not working. Minister Morrison recognises that they are the subject matter experts—they are on the front line, they have a wealth of knowledge and they know what is needed to protect our borders from particularly unwanted goods.

The bill contains various amendments to the Customs Act. More broadly, those changes are about improving the administration of the appointment of authorised officers. The allowance of class-based authorisations will include future offices or positions that come into existence after the authorisation is given. The bill is about extending Customs controls to those places where ships and aircraft arrive in Australia that are not proclaimed ports or airports and where agencies do not necessarily have a strong presence. It is about providing greater flexibility in relation to the reporting of the arrival of ships and aircraft in Australia and reporting of stores and prohibited goods on such ships and aircraft. It is also about improving application processes for several permissions under the act. These amendments will also support initiatives to enable online applications for these permissions. The bill is also about extending Customs powers in relation to the examination of baggage for domestic passengers on international flights and voyages and of domestic cargo that is carried on international flights and voyages, even though these travels may not be on an international leg. The bill also corrects a technical error, resulting in the enhancement of the interaction of the Infringement Notice Scheme with the claims process under the act in relation to prohibited imports. These amendments aim to improve the practicalities of protecting our borders from unauthorised entries and undesirable goods entering Australia.

My electorate, covering the areas of Darwin and Palmerston, faces a number of different customs threats. For example, every fishing season there are scores of illegal fishing vessels intercepted off the Top End. Illegal fishing poses a real threat to Australian fish stocks and the Australian economy. The waters off Darwin are a pristine marine environment that we regulate to avoid overfishing and pollution causing damage to our marine life. Illegal fishing activity directly undermines the Australian government's hard work and integrity measures put in place to ensure that we fish sustainably and harvest seafood in a way that enables future generations to access the wonderful range of foods we are so fortunate to have in our oceans.

Customs and Border Protection are committed to protecting Australian borders on the high seas and are particularly effective in intercepting illegal entries, considering our unfathomably large borders. Just yesterday Border Protection Command and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority intercepted two foreign fishing vessels just 170 nautical miles off Darwin The vessels had on board 14 crew, 45 kilograms of dried fish, 10 kilograms of fresh fish, six live fish and some fishing and diving equipment, all of which, thankfully, has been seized. They were intercepted by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service vessel Dame Roma Mitchell. The two boats have been apprehended on suspicion of illegal fishing activity in Australian waters.

In May this year HMAS Glenelg intercepted a foreign fishing vessel off the coast of Darwin. This boat was also suspected of illegal fishing activity in the Australian Fishing Zone. Border Protection Command personnel found almost 50 kilos of Spanish mackerel, 20 kilos of tuna, 20 kilos of dolphinfish and 10 kilos of barracuda on this vessel.

Illegal fishing poses a threat to my electorate, because one in three households in my electorate has a boat. We have a lot of keen fishermen in my electorate. But it is not only the recreational fishers that are impacted by illegal fishing; it is also the small businesses. Many local businesses rely on the regulation of commercial fishing in our region. These large amounts of seafood being taken illegally from our waters mean more work with fewer positive outcomes for our local businesses.

Back in April, the Australian Customs vessel Cape St George intercepted two foreign fishing vessels, also suspected of illegally fishing in the Australian Fishing Zone, after detection by an Australian Customs and Border Protection Service Dash 8 surveillance aircraft. On Monday, 28 April, Border Protection Command personnel boarded these vessels approximately 167 nautical miles north-north-west of Darwin. The vessels had around 190 kilograms of wet trepang—that is a lot of sea cucumber. They also had some diving equipment on this boat. Customs personnel also saw people on a second boat throwing items overboard, and they were also found to have various fishing equipment and bags of salt, all indicating that there was illegal fishing activity occurring.

Also in April, HMAS Launceston intercepted a foreign fishing vessel approximately 180 nautical miles north-west of Darwin, which was also suspected of illegally fishing in the Australian Fishing Zone. It was found to have approximately 20 kilos of salted trepang, five reef fish and five kilos of dried fish, along with hookah and some diving gear.

Also in April, a foreign fishing vessel was detected approximately 275 nautical miles west of Darwin by, once again, an Australian Customs Dash 8 surveillance aircraft and was intercepted by the Australian Customs vessel Botany Bay. The vessel had fishing lines deployed and over 500 kilograms of fish on board. That is just outrageous.

In March this year, four foreign fishing vessels with a total of 58 crew were apprehended approximately 180 nautical miles north-west of Darwin. The wooden vessels were intercepted on Wednesday, 12 March and Thursday, 13 March by HMAS ships Launceston and Glenelg. Over 60 giant clams were found on board the vessels, as well as large quantities in their holds. Personnel also found a large quantity of sea cucumber and another large number of assorted fish.

I would like to put on record the outstanding work that our Customs and Border Protection people do. I think the examples I have just given highlight the success that they have been able to achieve.

Another pressing issue in my electorate is the running of drugs in and out of our international airport and also our domestic airfields to remote communities around the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory Police do an amazing job of monitoring this dangerous trade. The knowledge and expertise of our Australian Customs is invaluable in sharing information and skills.

As drug runners use more creative ways to evade authorities, Customs must be appropriately equipped to deal with these constantly changing tactics. The coalition is ensuring that Customs and Border Protection agencies are well funded and properly resourced, so they can continue to protect not only my constituents but also the rest of the Australian communities from drugs, crime and disadvantage associated with drug use.

Customs officers working in my electorate in monitoring or looking after Darwin International Airport do an incredible job combating drug trafficking. The Top End is often referred to as Australia's gateway to Asia. This is because there are eight capital cities and 69 international airports within a four-hour flight north of Darwin. This means Customs officers have a huge responsibility in protecting Australia's borders at Darwin International Airport. We have many international flights in and out of Darwin. We need to do all we can to support these hard workers, who are often the front line of defence from external threats coming through our airports.

It is obvious that customs officers in my electorate are doing a fantastic job by the large drug busts that they have made this year alone, which I will relay to you. An investigation beginning in July resulted in one arrest and the seizure of 1.6 kilos of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine in Darwin last month. Thank God those drugs are no longer available in the community.

The joint agency operation targeting air cargo began when Australian Customs and Border Protection Service officers in Darwin identified multiple consignments of suspicious packaging originating from Bangkok. In September Customs personnel apprehended a 42-year-old UK national and a 56-year-old Australian national, who have now appeared in Darwin court charged with the attempted smuggling of two kilos of ephedrine into Australia. In July, a Victorian man arrived on a flight from Malaysia and he was found to have a laser pointer, a knuckle duster, 30 electric shock devices disguised as torches, a spring-loaded knife, 700 steroid tablets and 1,400 tablets containing Viagra. Thankfully they are also not available in our community anymore. You can tell that the operation does fantastic work in my electorate. As the member for Solomon, I recognise the important role Customs officers play and I am united with the minister in wanting to ensure our Customs and Border Protection agencies are properly resourced. I commend this bill to the House.

See this speech in context