August 18, 2024
Warnings of 'huge gap' in security with our aerial coastline patrols Defence experts and the Coalition have homed in on a lack of drones to survey the coast off Australia's northwest, saying anew government contract to aerially survey the border doesn't stipulate buying new unmanned systems in a move that could present "huge gaps" to people smugglers.
The issue of border security was thrust back into the spotlight this month when four illegal foreign fishing boats reached a remote part of the West Australian coastline. Defence expert Michael Shoebridge, director of Strategic Analysis Australia, said current aircraft used for aerial monitoring were leaving the borders exposed.
"It's a huge gap," he said. "The whole of the rest of the world... is routinely using drones for all kinds of purposes. There's a massive wilful blindness ... about taking advantage of cheap, unmanned aerial surveillance. That's going to become a bigger problem because the navy is running out of ships and using expensive aircraft (for aerial surveillance)." The latest Department of Home Affairs annual report revealed surveillance hours undertaken by aircraft had dropped by 14.24 percent in 2022-23 compared to the year before, with 12,691 hours completed. That was done from 16,010 hours in 2020-21, the last full year of a Coalition government. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke previously said the drop in hours was because of a "single contractor". "This was influenced by under-resourced aircrews and difficulties operating in remote offshore areas, resulting in increased aircraft maintenance requirements that, in turn, affected aircrew availability," the report said, with Mr Shoebridge saying that gap should be covered by more drones.
"I just think they're living in the past, and just as a taxpayer, the sheer economics of it makes me think if you're not putting cheap drone surveillance into these contracts, you're not protecting the Australian taxpayer or Australia's borders," he said.
Opposition home affairs spokesman, Senator James Paterson, said the government" should be exploring drones to plug the holes in surveillance that have opened up on their watch". "The Albanese government's failure to deliver adequate aerial surveillance and maritime patrols means people smugglers are slipping through our nation's defences and breaching our borders," he said. "Tony Burke must urgently fix this before more boats turn up on our shores."
An Australian Border Force spokesman said it would "not go into specifics about capability assessments and requirements" and the ABF "is constantly reviewing its capabilities, to ensure they remain fit for purpose". The government previously put $123.8m from 2023-24 towards the ABF's on-water response and aerial surveillance capabilities, as well as funding to protect borders and biosecurity from illegal fishing activities.
