House debates

Thursday, 10 December 2020

Bills

Transport Security Amendment (Testing and Training) Bill 2020; Second Reading

11:42 am

Photo of Vince ConnellyVince Connelly (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The year 2020 has tested humanity in new and unexpected ways. The way that we live, work, recreate and, of course, travel has changed. Before COVID-19, there were 38 million people travelling annually through Australian airports and marine ports. As we near Christmas, as state and territory borders reopen, people all over Australia are desperate, understandably, to get home to loved ones. Whilst we're very conscious of being COVID-safe during our travels, the Transport Security Amendment (Testing and Training) Bill 2020 is a timely reminder of the importance of our safety and security from other physical threats while we travel. This bill acknowledges these threats and also ensures that we have the means at our disposal to deal with them.

The government considers that its first priority is the safety and security of all Australian people. This extends to ensuring that critical industries, including transport, remain robust. In a world that is changing rapidly, there are those who seek to take advantage of uncertainty and do us harm. The government has strengthened our national defences, particularly against terrorism, with the investment of an additional $2.3 billion over recent years. It's a constant battle to ensure that Australians have the right tools and training to preserve our national security. Indeed, I have some personal experience of working as a crisis management consultant after leaving the Australian Army. This work included running crisis management training and exercising for teams of people in all manner of environments, including mine sites, businesses and airports.

There are layers of physical and procedural controls which constitute an appropriate security plan. Training and exercising at aerodromes and airports is particularly complex. Firstly, there are a great many moving parts, including not only the vehicles and the aircraft but also, of course, the passage of people through different parts of and around an aerodrome. Secondly, many of the stakeholders involved bring a deal of complexity as they interact, necessarily, with each other. These stakeholders include passengers, police, firefighters, ambulance personnel, airport security and a range of others. I'm particularly fond of some recent comments made by Senator Jim Molan, a former general, who said:

National security is not something which is conducted only by the military, the police or Home Affairs; national security is something which everyone, every element of the nation, is responsible for. National security applies to all of us.

Senator Molan often says that 'the security of the nation takes a whole nation'. Our role in government includes our responsibility to keep our legislation under constant review. Indeed, the Australian government has passed 19 tranches of legislation since 2014, when the national terrorism threat level, which is currently 'probable', was increased. Since September 2014, when the threat level was raised, 102 people have been charged as a result of 51 counterterrorism related responses around Australia.

As threats evolve, so must our response. This bill achieves this in two ways. Firstly, it gives aviation security inspectors explicit powers to test security systems in security controlled airports, on aircraft and in certain other places associated with aviation industry participants. Secondly, it updates training and qualification requirements for screening officers and the means by which they are set. Essentially, this bill allows for more comprehensive and uniform training of aviation security officers to ensure that they can be more thorough as they go about their important role of testing security at our airports, and the associated maritime security measures. Importantly, this bill allows for test pieces to be used in order to identify weak spots that could be exploited. There is no better training that we can give our security personnel than practical, hands-on experience. In fact, it is appropriate that we do so, considering that this is how we train and best prepare all of our frontline security personnel. With those comments, I commend this bill to the House.

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