Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Hansard source

As a result, Hobart will become the first Australian capital city airport not protected by the AFP. There is no doubt that the cuts to AFP aviation operations will undermine airport security at Hobart Airport, because the AFP presence at Hobart airport is an invaluable deterrent to crime. The security gap has to be covered by Tasmania police and security contractors.

Finally, the committee wishes to thank very much and congratulate Commissioner Negus for his dedicated service to the AFP. Commissioner Negus will end his term on 7 September, which will conclude his distinguished 32 years of service in the AFP. Commissioner Negus is in a very different place from when he started directing Canberra's traffic at the beginning of the 1980s, but his professionalism and commitment to the principle of the police as a service to the community has always been a recognisable aspect to his varied career within the AFP.

I also speak on behalf of my colleague Jason Clare, who greatly valued Commissioner Negus's advice and support when he was Minister for Justice in the Gillard government. We wish Commissioner Negus all the very best, in wherever he chooses to take his outstanding talents next, and we have no doubt he will successfully add to his long list of achievements.