Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is directed to the Minister for Defence. Would the minister inform the House how the Australian Defence Force is contributing to Australia’s border security. Has there been any criticism of this approach and what is the government’s response?

Brendan Nelson (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Solomon for his question and his very strong commitment to border protection, particularly in the north end of Australia. There is no more important task undertaken by the Royal Australian Navy than the protection of Australia’s borders. Having had the privilege of being able to spend a night on HMAS Bathurst, I can attest to the professionalism and commitment of the Royal Australian Navy in this task.

In the most recent budget, the government announced a further $380 million investment over the next four years in further strengthening Australia’s border protection. At the moment, as far as our Royal Australian Navy is concerned, we have one major fleet unit, an FFG, at the Top End. We also currently have five Armidale class patrol boats which we will build up to seven. We have brought back two minehunters, which will also support them in that task, and a PC3 Orion surveillance aircraft. All of that complements the very important assets, dedication and commitment of Australian Customs and other agencies which we have brought together under one single operation called Operation Resolute. We also now have a border security central command which coordinates all the efforts of Australia’s enforcement agencies in protecting Australian borders. I recently announced, in addition to that, a billion dollar investment in developing a multimissioned, unmanned aerial vehicle and we are working with the United States Navy to develop that for state-of-the-art surveillance across our maritime borders.

I think many Australians are aware of the Channel 7 program Border Security. In May this year, it aired a program which featured HMAS Warrnambool. We saw a Royal Australian Navy patrol boat coming alongside an ice boat, a foreign vessel fishing illegally in Australian waters. The first thing that this foreign fishing vessel met was a Navy vessel. The first thing the XO of the ship said over a megaphone, accompanied by another sailor holding a firearm, was, ‘This is an Australian warship.’ Following that, rounds were fired from a 50 calibre machine gun and a boarding party went aboard that foreign fishing vessel.

There are others who are critical of this policy and approach to border protection. The Australian Labor Party has proposed a coastguard, which is really a coast guide. That means that in five years the Labor Party has had five policies on this and it is very difficult to understand exactly what it is on about. In fact, if you have any doubt about this, when presenting evidence against handling a coastguard to the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Public Accounts and Audit in 2001 the Navy said that the creation of a coastguard would have a detrimental effect on Navy training and experience. That is Navyspeak for gutting Australia’s Navy.

But of perhaps more interest is that the CFMEU journal Common Cause in October that year said of the creation of an Australian coastguard: ‘It would be manned by members of the Maritime Union.’ So Australians have a choice. The choice that Australians have is that they have the Royal Australian Navy picking up those who want to breach Australian sovereignty and presenting them with the full force of the Navy in securing and protecting our borders or they have a coastguard of indeterminate cost which would gut the Royal Australian Navy and be manned by civilians who would be fully unionised.

I have also directed the Chief of Navy to review the rules of engagement and the amount of force which can be used by the Royal Australian Navy against those who want to come here and steal our fish or illegally come to Australia. I might also point out that the choice Australians will have next year, when the election comes, is between a government that is strong in the parliament and strong on the borders, and a Beazley led government with a white flag on the parliament and a white flag on our borders.

Duncan Kerr (Denison, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You were going to remove the borders!

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Denison is warned!