Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Deputy Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

The Transport Security Amendment (Serious or Organised Crime) Bill 2016 is just one aspect of the government's work to reduce serious or organised crime in our community. We are tackling the supply of drugs through increased international cooperation, enhanced intelligence sharing, better controls of precursor chemicals and greater efforts to prevent, for example, ice reaching our regional and remote communities. I do note Senator Lambie's very real concern in relation to ice—indeed, we have discussed that previously. I think it just indicates the importance of the changes that we are looking to bring when we look at ice. The National Ice Taskforce reported that the weight of ice seized at the Australian border grew almost 60 times between 2010 and 2014.

I was very closely involved—as one of the ministers at the time—with Minister Keenan in bringing forward the package of almost $300 million to deal with the ever-increasing presence and negative effect that ice is having on our community. Already this year there has been a large seizure at a port of almost 600 kilograms of ice. The taskforce found that serious and organised crime groups may target trusted insiders working in airports and seaports to help facilitate the movement of illicit drugs and avoid law enforcement intervention. These findings by the National Ice Taskforce are why the government is acting to strengthen the ASIC and MSIC schemes. We are absolutely committed to keeping Australia safe. The legislation we have here before us is entirely appropriate for moving towards doing everything we can to ensure that we keep Australia safe.

In relation to Senator Leyonhjelm's commentary around employment: overall, the proposed eligibility criteria is expected to provide positive employment outcomes across the ASIC and MSIC schemes. The shift in focus from low-level or minor offences to high-risk offences related to serious or organised crime means that more applicants are expected to be found initially eligible for an ASIC or an MSIC. This will mean these people may be issued their ASIC or MSIC more quickly, reducing the impact to their employment and increasing the staff available to employers.