Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to sum up the debate on the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Police Powers at Airports) Bill 2019. In doing so, I'd like to thank all colleagues who have contributed to the debate on this bill, which will ensure that our police can continue to keep safe and secure the thousands of Australians who transit through the airport network every day. I would also like to thank the parliamentary committees that have considered this bill, including the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, for their contributions.

While Australia's aviation network is amongst the safest in the world, it is an unfortunate reality that our airports are seen as an enduring and attractive target for terrorists and for transnational, serious and organised crime syndicates. In July 2017, a terrorist plot to blow up an Etihad flight departing Sydney was, thankfully, disrupted, preventing what would otherwise have been the greatest loss of Australian life from any terrorist attack in history. This terrorist plot demonstrated a level of sophistication not seen before in Australia, and was just one of the 16 planned terrorist attacks that our law enforcement and intelligence agencies have disrupted since the national terrorism threat level was raised in September 2014. Organised crime syndicates also pose a significant threat to Australian communities and the Australian way of life. These groups are highly adaptable and resourceful, looking for opportunities to exploit any potential vulnerabilities in our aviation network for their own criminal operations, such as the trafficking of illicit drugs and firearms.

With these threats to Australia primarily based offshore, our actions to combat serious and organised crime must be targeted at detecting, deterring and disrupting the actions of criminals seeking to infiltrate our borders, including through our major airports. Although Australia already has a strong and comprehensive aviation security framework, we must continue to review and bolster our security arrangements from time to time to remain ahead of these real and evolving threats.

This bill will strengthen police powers at major Australian airports, enabling police to direct the person to produce evidence of their identity and to leave the airport or to not take a flight for up to 24 hours if they pose a criminal, safety or security risk. The bill also contains new offences for failing to comply with a direction to stop, provide proof of identity or move on from the airport in appropriate circumstances. These offences are an enforcement tool to ensure that use of new powers is not frustrated by noncompliance. Police will be able to use the new powers at all major Australian capital city airports as well as Alice Springs, the Gold Coast, Launceston and Townsville airports. These airports have been identified because of the large volume of passengers who transit through these airports annually and, in some cases, because of international flight departures. The responsible minister will also be able to determine additional airports at which the new powers may be exercised, which in practice will be based on operational advice from the Australian Federal Police and the broader intelligence community.

Various Commonwealth, state and territory laws apply across Australian airports. This bill seeks to address some of this complexity by giving police consistent and appropriate powers to respond proactively and proportionately to criminal, safety and security threats at major Australian airports. The Australian government is committed to ensuring that these new powers will be genuinely exercised by police in an unbiased and non-discriminatory manner. Police will not be checking the identity of every person present at a major airport—nor would they have the power to do so under the bill. It is not the intention that these powers will act as a de facto requirement to carry ID. Use of the new powers will be based on very clear and specific criteria in the legislation and supported by the Australian Federal Police's specialist expertise and training.

As I've noted, this bill has been considered in detail by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security as well as the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights and the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills. The government has fully considered these committees' views and recommendations, which have been incorporated into the bill. In particular, the bill explicitly provides that a person's right to engage in peaceful assembly will not by itself be regarded as prejudicial to the public order and safe operation of a major airport. Police cannot use the new identity checking and move-on powers to disrupt or quell a protest unless the protest or protestors are causing a risk to the airport's public order and safe operation or a risk to the safety of any person in the airport environment. The bill also ensures that where police issue a move-on direction the person subject to the direction will be made aware of their rights to seek judicial review or interlocutory orders in relation to that direction, including in expedited or urgent circumstances.

Threats to our aviation security are not static, and our laws should not be either. Police powers must continue to evolve in parallel with the threat environment. The new identity-checking and move-on powers are designed to keep the Australian public safe by enabling police to better prevent, detect and disrupt serious criminal, safety and security risks—risks that are unique to the aviation environment—at the earliest possible opportunity. This bill strikes the right balance between ensuring the safety and security of all Australians using our airports and minimising the disruption to the travelling public. I commend the bill to the Senate.