The Albanese Labor Government’s newly announced operation to curb illegal foreign fishing vessels has come far too late for Australian fishers and the environment suffering under from the influx on the northern border.
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs Jonno Duniam said, “The Albanese Labor Government has been reactive, not proactive, in responding to the needs of communities on our northern border.”
“The Government has admitted that its own operations in WA and the NT pushed illegal foreign fishers into the Torres Strait. Why did it not act sooner to prevent this surge that left the Torres Strait and FNQ susceptible? And why are we seeing cases in the Northern Territory of alleged illegal fishers with shark fin in their possession with the supposed success of operation LUNAR?”
“Illegal incursions on the northern coast have surged. In Cape York this year alone we have had at least ten interceptions, while an alleged foreign vessel was photographed inside a mainland creek. They are getting so brazen that we had a case of three alleged illegal fishers walking into a business in the Torres Strait to acquire drinks. Where does this end?”
The Albanese Government are still playing catch up on the number of surveillance hours reached under the former Coalition Government. According to the Department of Home Affairs Annual Reports, there was a 26 per cent drop in surveillance hours from 2020/21 compared to 2022/23, while the Government has chosen to no longer quantify patrol days that were plummeting on their watch.
“Aerial surveillance under the Albanese Government has cratered and is yet reach an acceptable level, and the Government has also quietly dropped its key metric of patrol days that Border Force previously used,” Senator Duniam said.
“The northern border has been left exposed by this government and illegal fishers have noticed. Our borders are weaker, and criminal operators are exploiting the gaps. Labor has clearly lost control and it is the communities along the coast who have had to pick up the pieces.”
“Australia needs a whole-of-northern-border approach that actually works, not a reaction after the fact. The Government must urgently sort our surveillance and a proper deterrence so that our border is protected.”
ENDS