❓ The WA Premier questions the effectiveness of the Commonwealth's $88 million plan to combat illegal fishing, suggesting it's a 'bandaid solution' lacking strategic detail and sufficient frontline patrols off WA's coast.
AnsweredQoN 731Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Is the Premier aware of the recent announcement by the commonwealth government to spend $88 million across the top of Australia to try to stop illegal fishing by foreign boats in those waters? (2) Will the Premier advise the house whether this is part of a comprehensive response on the part of the commonwealth government to these issues or is this just a bandaid measure? Dr G.I. GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(2) This is a very important question that relates to border security. The commonwealth was keen to get out there and talk about $88 million, but we must ask what it will achieve. Also, will this package guarantee one extra patrol by Customs and Navy front-line boats in the north of Western Australia? That is a key question. We have had a close look at the package. It includes four so-called tactical response boats, one of which is to be based in Broome, that the federal government says will patrol inshore areas and tow captured foreign boats into port. The commonwealth says that this will enable bigger Customs and Navy vessels to turn around more quickly and get back on the job. On the face of it, this is hardly a package that bolsters Australia’s front-line capacity to police its maritime borders. Are these new vessels tactical patrol boats or simply tow boats and ferries for illegal fishermen? The crux of the issue is this: how many extra commonwealth patrols will there be off northern Australia, and particularly off Western Australia? Western Australians will not be convinced that this is a dinkum effort to stop illegal fishing until they see the detail. To add to this, some $20 million of that money will be spent on increased detention and removal costs. It seems that the commonwealth will have a dedicated contracted aircraft to fly illegal fishermen across Australia because it does not have detention facilities in places like Broome. This smells like a political bandaid rather than a real solution for Western Australia and Australia. On the one hand, the commonwealth says that it will base six new Customs officers in Broome; on the other hand, it withdraws funding for the eight-man international operations unit, which was part of the Western Australian Department of Fisheries for many years. The commonwealth has to tell us exactly how many extra patrols there will be to police the waters of northern Australia. It has to produce a strategic plan to deter illegal fishing activity. This is a bandaid solution. It may help partially to deal with the problem but it is a long way short of a strategy; it is a long way short of a solution. John Howard’s border security policy is failing in Western Australia. It is the government of Western Australia that is informing the public of the matter. It is only the government of Western Australia that is pressing the commonwealth government on the matter.
(2) Will the Premier advise the house whether this is part of a comprehensive response on the part of the commonwealth government to these issues or is this just a bandaid measure? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) This is a very important question that relates to border security. The commonwealth was keen to get out there and talk about $88 million, but we must ask what it will achieve. Also, will this package guarantee one extra patrol by Customs and Navy front-line boats in the north of Western Australia? That is a key question. We have had a close look at the package. It includes four so-called tactical response boats, one of which is to be based in Broome, that the federal government says will patrol inshore areas and tow captured foreign boats into port. The commonwealth says that this will enable bigger Customs and Navy vessels to turn around more quickly and get back on the job. On the face of it, this is hardly a package that bolsters Australia’s front-line capacity to police its maritime borders. Are these new vessels tactical patrol boats or simply tow boats and ferries for illegal fishermen? The crux of the issue is this: how many extra commonwealth patrols will there be off northern Australia, and particularly off Western Australia? Western Australians will not be convinced that this is a dinkum effort to stop illegal fishing until they see the detail. To add to this, some $20 million of that money will be spent on increased detention and removal costs. It seems that the commonwealth will have a dedicated contracted aircraft to fly illegal fishermen across Australia because it does not have detention facilities in places like Broome. This smells like a political bandaid rather than a real solution for Western Australia and Australia. On the one hand, the commonwealth says that it will base six new Customs officers in Broome; on the other hand, it withdraws funding for the eight-man international operations unit, which was part of the Western Australian Department of Fisheries for many years. The commonwealth has to tell us exactly how many extra patrols there will be to police the waters of northern Australia. It has to produce a strategic plan to deter illegal fishing activity. This is a bandaid solution. It may help partially to deal with the problem but it is a long way short of a strategy; it is a long way short of a solution. John Howard’s border security policy is failing in Western Australia. It is the government of Western Australia that is informing the public of the matter. It is only the government of Western Australia that is pressing the commonwealth government on the matter.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) This is a very important question that relates to border security. The commonwealth was keen to get out there and talk about $88 million, but we must ask what it will achieve. Also, will this package guarantee one extra patrol by Customs and Navy front-line boats in the north of Western Australia? That is a key question. We have had a close look at the package. It includes four so-called tactical response boats, one of which is to be based in Broome, that the federal government says will patrol inshore areas and tow captured foreign boats into port. The commonwealth says that this will enable bigger Customs and Navy vessels to turn around more quickly and get back on the job. On the face of it, this is hardly a package that bolsters Australia’s front-line capacity to police its maritime borders. Are these new vessels tactical patrol boats or simply tow boats and ferries for illegal fishermen? The crux of the issue is this: how many extra commonwealth patrols will there be off northern Australia, and particularly off Western Australia? Western Australians will not be convinced that this is a dinkum effort to stop illegal fishing until they see the detail. To add to this, some $20 million of that money will be spent on increased detention and removal costs. It seems that the commonwealth will have a dedicated contracted aircraft to fly illegal fishermen across Australia because it does not have detention facilities in places like Broome. This smells like a political bandaid rather than a real solution for Western Australia and Australia. On the one hand, the commonwealth says that it will base six new Customs officers in Broome; on the other hand, it withdraws funding for the eight-man international operations unit, which was part of the Western Australian Department of Fisheries for many years. The commonwealth has to tell us exactly how many extra patrols there will be to police the waters of northern Australia. It has to produce a strategic plan to deter illegal fishing activity. This is a bandaid solution. It may help partially to deal with the problem but it is a long way short of a strategy; it is a long way short of a solution. John Howard’s border security policy is failing in Western Australia. It is the government of Western Australia that is informing the public of the matter. It is only the government of Western Australia that is pressing the commonwealth government on the matter.
(1)-(2) This is a very important question that relates to border security. The commonwealth was keen to get out there and talk about $88 million, but we must ask what it will achieve. Also, will this package guarantee one extra patrol by Customs and Navy front-line boats in the north of Western Australia? That is a key question. We have had a close look at the package. It includes four so-called tactical response boats, one of which is to be based in Broome, that the federal government says will patrol inshore areas and tow captured foreign boats into port. The commonwealth says that this will enable bigger Customs and Navy vessels to turn around more quickly and get back on the job. On the face of it, this is hardly a package that bolsters Australia’s front-line capacity to police its maritime borders. Are these new vessels tactical patrol boats or simply tow boats and ferries for illegal fishermen? The crux of the issue is this: how many extra commonwealth patrols will there be off northern Australia, and particularly off Western Australia? Western Australians will not be convinced that this is a dinkum effort to stop illegal fishing until they see the detail. To add to this, some $20 million of that money will be spent on increased detention and removal costs. It seems that the commonwealth will have a dedicated contracted aircraft to fly illegal fishermen across Australia because it does not have detention facilities in places like Broome. This smells like a political bandaid rather than a real solution for Western Australia and Australia. On the one hand, the commonwealth says that it will base six new Customs officers in Broome; on the other hand, it withdraws funding for the eight-man international operations unit, which was part of the Western Australian Department of Fisheries for many years. The commonwealth has to tell us exactly how many extra patrols there will be to police the waters of northern Australia. It has to produce a strategic plan to deter illegal fishing activity. This is a bandaid solution. It may help partially to deal with the problem but it is a long way short of a strategy; it is a long way short of a solution. John Howard’s border security policy is failing in Western Australia. It is the government of Western Australia that is informing the public of the matter. It is only the government of Western Australia that is pressing the commonwealth government on the matter.
(2) Will the Premier advise the house whether this is part of a comprehensive response on the part of the commonwealth government to these issues or is this just a bandaid measure? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) This is a very important question that relates to border security. The commonwealth was keen to get out there and talk about $88 million, but we must ask what it will achieve. Also, will this package guarantee one extra patrol by Customs and Navy front-line boats in the north of Western Australia? That is a key question. We have had a close look at the package. It includes four so-called tactical response boats, one of which is to be based in Broome, that the federal government says will patrol inshore areas and tow captured foreign boats into port. The commonwealth says that this will enable bigger Customs and Navy vessels to turn around more quickly and get back on the job. On the face of it, this is hardly a package that bolsters Australia’s front-line capacity to police its maritime borders. Are these new vessels tactical patrol boats or simply tow boats and ferries for illegal fishermen? The crux of the issue is this: how many extra commonwealth patrols will there be off northern Australia, and particularly off Western Australia? Western Australians will not be convinced that this is a dinkum effort to stop illegal fishing until they see the detail. To add to this, some $20 million of that money will be spent on increased detention and removal costs. It seems that the commonwealth will have a dedicated contracted aircraft to fly illegal fishermen across Australia because it does not have detention facilities in places like Broome. This smells like a political bandaid rather than a real solution for Western Australia and Australia. On the one hand, the commonwealth says that it will base six new Customs officers in Broome; on the other hand, it withdraws funding for the eight-man international operations unit, which was part of the Western Australian Department of Fisheries for many years. The commonwealth has to tell us exactly how many extra patrols there will be to police the waters of northern Australia. It has to produce a strategic plan to deter illegal fishing activity. This is a bandaid solution. It may help partially to deal with the problem but it is a long way short of a strategy; it is a long way short of a solution. John Howard’s border security policy is failing in Western Australia. It is the government of Western Australia that is informing the public of the matter. It is only the government of Western Australia that is pressing the commonwealth government on the matter.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) This is a very important question that relates to border security. The commonwealth was keen to get out there and talk about $88 million, but we must ask what it will achieve. Also, will this package guarantee one extra patrol by Customs and Navy front-line boats in the north of Western Australia? That is a key question. We have had a close look at the package. It includes four so-called tactical response boats, one of which is to be based in Broome, that the federal government says will patrol inshore areas and tow captured foreign boats into port. The commonwealth says that this will enable bigger Customs and Navy vessels to turn around more quickly and get back on the job. On the face of it, this is hardly a package that bolsters Australia’s front-line capacity to police its maritime borders. Are these new vessels tactical patrol boats or simply tow boats and ferries for illegal fishermen? The crux of the issue is this: how many extra commonwealth patrols will there be off northern Australia, and particularly off Western Australia? Western Australians will not be convinced that this is a dinkum effort to stop illegal fishing until they see the detail. To add to this, some $20 million of that money will be spent on increased detention and removal costs. It seems that the commonwealth will have a dedicated contracted aircraft to fly illegal fishermen across Australia because it does not have detention facilities in places like Broome. This smells like a political bandaid rather than a real solution for Western Australia and Australia. On the one hand, the commonwealth says that it will base six new Customs officers in Broome; on the other hand, it withdraws funding for the eight-man international operations unit, which was part of the Western Australian Department of Fisheries for many years. The commonwealth has to tell us exactly how many extra patrols there will be to police the waters of northern Australia. It has to produce a strategic plan to deter illegal fishing activity. This is a bandaid solution. It may help partially to deal with the problem but it is a long way short of a strategy; it is a long way short of a solution. John Howard’s border security policy is failing in Western Australia. It is the government of Western Australia that is informing the public of the matter. It is only the government of Western Australia that is pressing the commonwealth government on the matter.
(1)-(2) This is a very important question that relates to border security. The commonwealth was keen to get out there and talk about $88 million, but we must ask what it will achieve. Also, will this package guarantee one extra patrol by Customs and Navy front-line boats in the north of Western Australia? That is a key question. We have had a close look at the package. It includes four so-called tactical response boats, one of which is to be based in Broome, that the federal government says will patrol inshore areas and tow captured foreign boats into port. The commonwealth says that this will enable bigger Customs and Navy vessels to turn around more quickly and get back on the job. On the face of it, this is hardly a package that bolsters Australia’s front-line capacity to police its maritime borders. Are these new vessels tactical patrol boats or simply tow boats and ferries for illegal fishermen? The crux of the issue is this: how many extra commonwealth patrols will there be off northern Australia, and particularly off Western Australia? Western Australians will not be convinced that this is a dinkum effort to stop illegal fishing until they see the detail. To add to this, some $20 million of that money will be spent on increased detention and removal costs. It seems that the commonwealth will have a dedicated contracted aircraft to fly illegal fishermen across Australia because it does not have detention facilities in places like Broome. This smells like a political bandaid rather than a real solution for Western Australia and Australia. On the one hand, the commonwealth says that it will base six new Customs officers in Broome; on the other hand, it withdraws funding for the eight-man international operations unit, which was part of the Western Australian Department of Fisheries for many years. The commonwealth has to tell us exactly how many extra patrols there will be to police the waters of northern Australia. It has to produce a strategic plan to deter illegal fishing activity. This is a bandaid solution. It may help partially to deal with the problem but it is a long way short of a strategy; it is a long way short of a solution. John Howard’s border security policy is failing in Western Australia. It is the government of Western Australia that is informing the public of the matter. It is only the government of Western Australia that is pressing the commonwealth government on the matter.
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