Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Justice. Minister, what action is the government taking to combat serious and organised crime, including the scourge of drug trafficking?

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fowler for his question and his ongoing interest in these very important matters. In December 2008, a federal government for the very first time decided to ensure that we properly and appropriately recognised serious and organised crime as a matter of national security. In November last year, the government—that is, the Attorney and I—launched and created the Organised Crime Strategic Framework, and in February this year we enacted legislation that went to serious and organised crime, empowering our law enforcement agencies to combat serious organised syndicates.

It is estimated that serious and organised crime costs this country anywhere between $10 billion and $15 billion each and every year. It is a great challenge for all governments of this country and indeed all local enforcement and intelligence domestic agencies around the nation. With this in mind, I congratulate the Australian Federal Police and Customs and Border Protection on last week seizing almost half a tonne of cocaine, the third-largest cocaine haul in Australia’s history—464 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $160 million. This complex operation required careful planning and coordination between not only the AFP and Customs and Border Protection but also the New South Wales and Queensland police. I would like to take this opportunity to pay special tribute to the agencies in my portfolio for the outstanding role they played in this very significant drug bust. Three men were charged and 12 search warrants were executed across New South Wales and Queensland, uncovering—I am advised—a clandestine drug laboratory at Eden, in New South Wales. This is coupled with the seizure of 240 kilograms of cocaine in June this year. Our law enforcement agencies are working very hard to combat serious and organised crime.

The other important element of this operation is that this matter might not have been triggered if it were not for the good cooperation, the very close cooperation, we have with law enforcement agencies in other countries. Indeed, the US Drug Enforcement Administration referred this matter to the Australian Federal Police, which from that point allowed the operation to ensue and which has led to the success to date.

Organised criminals and drug traffickers in this country are on notice that our agencies are working very hard to combat serious and organised crime. As I have said before, we know that money is the lifeblood of organised crime. We know that illicit drug trafficking is the primary source of that income, so we need to follow the money. We need to stem the money flow to those organisations. If we do that more effectively, we will manage to land serious blows against organised crime in this country and indeed in countries that we work very closely with. This is a high priority of this government. We will continue to work very closely with other governments of this nation and other governments in the region and around the world to combat this very serious issue.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.