Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

In fact, the success of these missions is due in no small part to the skill and the professionalism of the men and women who are embarked on our ships. When I met with the commander of the Combined Maritime Forces, United States Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, in Bahrain in April, he described the skill of our boarding parties as amongst the most rigorous and meticulous of all of the nations contributing to the mission. During the most recent seizure that I alluded to in my previous response, the Royal Australian Navy personnel worked right throughout the night and in very difficult conditions to complete that seizure. The people who are running these drugs go to extraordinary lengths to conceal them. It is a great testament to the proficiency of the men and women of our Navy that they are able to identify these suspicious fishing dhows and then conduct an absolutely meticulous search in very tough conditions to find these significant hauls of drugs.