Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Justice. Will the minister update the House on what federal law enforcement agencies are doing to combat people smuggling.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Pearce for that question, because he understands the importance of the government's work to stop people smuggling and therefore save lives. He also knows that people smuggling is a very evil and resilient crime. It is engaged in by sophisticated criminal gangs who operate internationally and is solely driven by the enormous profit on offer.

Many smuggling activities are organised by criminal networks that are also involved in other crime types such as drug trafficking, money laundering, document fraud and arms smuggling. In six years in government the Labor Party reinvigorated the people-smuggling trade and then they utterly failed to stop or deter the organised criminal networks that are responsible.

They did absolutely nothing for six years apart from pursuing policies that encouraged chaos and leniency. Whilst in government they even directed the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions not to prosecute certain people-smuggling types. This obvious weakness served to do only one thing: to embolden people-smuggling gangs, and that led to record people-smuggling enterprises and record illegal boat arrivals.

But I am pleased to report to the House that, unlike Labor's failed policies, the Abbott government, since coming to office, has resolved to aggressively pursue people smugglers, and they have been very effective in doing so.

I can confirm that on Friday, after a very long operation, the Australian Federal Police charged a man who was alleged to have smuggled people into our country. The 42-year-old was formally charged in Perth following his extradition from Germany. The arrest followed a substantial investigation by the Australian Federal Police in conjunction with its international law enforcement partners, particularly in Germany and through Interpol.

The Abbott government is committed to undermining the business models of these sophisticated and deadly organised criminal syndicates, and I congratulate the Australian Federal Police and their international partners for the work that they have done in facilitating this arrest. Unlike Labor, our policies have seen the dangerous practice of people smuggling by boat stopped. The government's Operation Sovereign Borders has proved to be extremely effective, with no successful people-smuggling arrivals for six months. I congratulate the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection for the success that he has achieved.

The message to people smugglers under the Abbott government is very clear: we will pursue you wherever you are in the world, and we will bring you to justice with the full force of Australian law.