Subjects: Transport Security Amendment (Serious Crime) Bill 2019; border protection.
EO&E...........................................................................................................................................
DEB KNIGHT:
Minister good morning to you.
PETER DUTTON:
Morning Deb.
DEB KNIGHT:
We already have background checks in place for people wanting to work at our border entry points to see if they're a security threat. Why is this new law needed?
PETER DUTTON:
We know that we've got about 250,000 people that have either an ASIC card or an MSIC card, that is an aviation or a maritime identification security card – so people that are going into secure areas either at airports or at seaports – and we want to make sure that those people don't pose a criminal risk.
So at the moment, the only assessment that can be done, the only way that you can deny a card to somebody is if they pose a national security threat – so a terrorist threat – but we know that there are about 277 people of the 250,000 who are either with links to Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs or are on the National Crime Target List.
We don't want criminals, particularly bikies, who are the biggest distributors of drugs and amphetamines in our country to have access to secure areas at airports and seaports.
DEB KNIGHT:
And how many people with these criminal convictions or organised crime links have actually been convicted of committing a crime at our borders in the past year?
PETER DUTTON:
Well a number of them – there are a couple of cases that we can point to specifically – but obviously the agencies will look at in particular the bikie gang members. We tried to get this legislation through the Parliament before.
Now, there are big links between the bikie groups and the CFMEU, so the Labor Party is reluctant to support this Bill, but I hope common sense prevails and we can get it through the Senate because in the end you don't want people with these identification cards at our airports, trafficking in cocaine or trafficking in amphetamine or ice or whatever it might be – and there are examples of that over the course of the last couple of years – and as I say, 277 is a pretty big number of those that we have concerns about that have links to motorcycle gangs in particular and we want to clamp down on that.
DEB KNIGHT:
And do you have the numbers to get it through the Senate?
PETER DUTTON:
We will if the Labor Party supports it and as I say, I just don't understand what their argument would be against it.
DEB KNIGHT:
They didn't support it last time.
PETER DUTTON:
Well they didn't, but I hope now under Anthony Albanese, as opposed to Mr Shorten who had stronger links to the unions, that they could support this Bill through because people who travel on planes or are involved at ports, travelling on cruise liners etc, they want to know that we've got security settings in place; and at the moment, allowing these people to be part of the secure area within airports is just unacceptable.
DEB KNIGHT:
Now there is a lot of money being spent of course on boarder protection and Parliament are being told this week that the bill to reopen Christmas Island is at this stage standing at more than $30 million. In light of the national emergency that we're facing with the drought, could that money be spent helping our farmers?
PETER DUTTON:
Well Deb, we're not spending money on boarder protection at the expense of what we are doing in drought. As the Prime Minister's pointed out, we've got a $7 billion drought package; we're helping farmers right here and now. We've got plans in place to make sure that we can try and put more water into these communities into the future as well.
So there's a lot that we're doing, but we can't sacrifice our border security. We don't want people drowning at sea again. We don't want kids back into detention and the Medivac Bill that Labor introduced, is basically a back doorway into Australia.
We've got these people who have come now that aren't in hospital, some of them haven't even sought medical attention and we're very clear that we set up Christmas Island as a deterrent because we know that people smugglers are trying to take money off people in Sri Lanka and elsewhere to hop on boats this very day.
So the threat hasn't gone away, but we can keep our borders secure and help farmers at the same time.
DEB KNIGHT:
Alright. Minister Dutton we thank you for your time this morning.
PETER DUTTON:
Thanks Deb.
[ends]
