Mr BURKE - 1994-11-22
Can the minister inform the parliament of the role that the Northern Territory police played following the arrival of the Vietnamese people this morning? Further, do the Northern Territory police have any administrative role in the immigration process across the north of Australia?
ANSWER
This is quite a serious situation. This matter was brought to the attention of the police by the refugees or the boat people themselves who landed on Nightcliff beach near the jetty after sailing into the harbour. Obviously, they steered by the lights of Nightcliff.
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That area of Nightcliff beach is quite popular with a number of Territorians who spend Sunday afternoons and evenings there having a few baked spuds and enjoying the sunset. After sailing in there, a couple of them walked up to the road and waited until a car came past. They managed to stop it. Obviously, their lack of language skills alerted the driver to the fact that something was not quite right so he drove them to a telephone at the Nightcliff Post Office. The car driver then contacted the Police Communications Centre, explained how he came to be making the telephone call and put these people on the telephone. The Police Communications Centre sent a crew from Nightcliff around to the post office. After ascertaining that there were people in a boat, they took those 2 people back down to the Nightcliff foreshore where they found 2 females and 11 males - a total of 13 people in all.
In relation to the question as to whether the police have any administrative role in the immigration process, obviously they do not. The police have a role, which by necessity is forced upon them in remote areas of the Territory's coastline, in observing vehicle movements and the possible illegal entry of immigrants to our shores. However, that is not their primary role and it could not even be seen as a secondary role. It is a role that is taken on by default. I believe the Australian government needs to take a far greater interest in our northern shores and boost the surveillance of our coastline. I am sure that this kind of incident would not have happened in Melbourne or Sydney. If a number of seals swam in from Heard Island, probably they would be discovered because there is better surveillance in the south of Australia than there is in the north.
This is a serious situation that highlights our vulnerability. The Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries could inform the House about the ramifications of some of the exotic diseases that could be brought ashore by people such as these. The fact is that the police do not have a formal role in this kind of incident but, by default, they have carried it out. That is inappropriate. I believe the federal government has to review seriously how it carries out its surveillance and its coastwatch procedures which need to be boosted to some extent.
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ANSWER
This is quite a serious situation. This matter was brought to the attention of the police by the refugees or the boat people themselves who landed on Nightcliff beach near the jetty after sailing into the harbour. Obviously, they steered by the lights of Nightcliff.
Page 279
That area of Nightcliff beach is quite popular with a number of Territorians who spend Sunday afternoons and evenings there having a few baked spuds and enjoying the sunset. After sailing in there, a couple of them walked up to the road and waited until a car came past. They managed to stop it. Obviously, their lack of language skills alerted the driver to the fact that something was not quite right so he drove them to a telephone at the Nightcliff Post Office. The car driver then contacted the Police Communications Centre, explained how he came to be making the telephone call and put these people on the telephone. The Police Communications Centre sent a crew from Nightcliff around to the post office. After ascertaining that there were people in a boat, they took those 2 people back down to the Nightcliff foreshore where they found 2 females and 11 males - a total of 13 people in all.
In relation to the question as to whether the police have any administrative role in the immigration process, obviously they do not. The police have a role, which by necessity is forced upon them in remote areas of the Territory's coastline, in observing vehicle movements and the possible illegal entry of immigrants to our shores. However, that is not their primary role and it could not even be seen as a secondary role. It is a role that is taken on by default. I believe the Australian government needs to take a far greater interest in our northern shores and boost the surveillance of our coastline. I am sure that this kind of incident would not have happened in Melbourne or Sydney. If a number of seals swam in from Heard Island, probably they would be discovered because there is better surveillance in the south of Australia than there is in the north.
This is a serious situation that highlights our vulnerability. The Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries could inform the House about the ramifications of some of the exotic diseases that could be brought ashore by people such as these. The fact is that the police do not have a formal role in this kind of incident but, by default, they have carried it out. That is inappropriate. I believe the federal government has to review seriously how it carries out its surveillance and its coastwatch procedures which need to be boosted to some extent.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016