September 3, 2024
The Australian Border Force’s (ABF) latest Operations Sovereign Borders (OSB) report marks a grim milestone for the Albanese Labor Government: there have now been 20 illegal ventures carrying more than 450 people that have made the journey to Australia since the 2022 election. At least three of these ventures dropped their passengers on Australian territory before departing undetected – something virtually unheard of under the previous Coalition Government.
The latest venture was carrying 74 illegal maritime arrivals, which is the largest cohort of IMAs aboard a single vessel since May 2022. This is a clear indication of the increasing boldness of the people smuggler operators who are profiting from Labor’s weakness on border security.
These numbers are deeply concerning but not surprising. The Albanese Labor government has watered down our border security settings by abolishing temporary protection visas – a key pillar of the OSB framework – and overseen a chronic degradation of the ABF’s surveillance capabilities, which has led to a 22% decrease in flying hours and a 12% decrease in maritime patrol days compared to the former Coalition Government.
Border protection should be a top priority for Tony Burke as the new Minister for Home Affairs but there is no sign that is the case. In the final days of the Rudd government, 83 boats arrived carrying 6634 illegal arrivals on Tony Burke’s watch. This recent attempted venture now brings the total number of IMAs to 6708 across 84 boats during his time as the responsible minister.
As the incoming Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke’s must immediately restore OSB to the settings maintained by the former Coalition government and repair our broken surveillance capabilities.
ENDS
