Friday, 05 September 2014
Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon Scott Morrison today announced next generation automated departures eGates would be rolled out at each of Australia's eight major international airports from mid-2015.
'The deployment of eGate technology is part of the Coalition Government's commitment of $158 million in additional funding for Immigration and Border Protection to boost our counter-terrorism capacity on our borders,' Minister Morrison said.
The national roll out of departure eGates was not funded by the previous Labor government. The Coalition Government is ensuring that our border protection agencies are being backed with the resources they need to do their job in protecting all Australians from the terrorism threat.
As Minister I have directed Customs and Border Protection officers to shift their focus on our border from facilitation as a priority to security as a priority. Australia's national security is our top priority.
Implementation of the automated departures eGates across our airports is an important investment in border management, providing legitimate, law abiding travellers with an experience that is seamless, low-touch and high-tech, greatly advancing our national security and border protection measures.
eGate technology ensures frontline officers can facilitate travellers more efficiently with less manual intervention, enabling them more time to focus on traveller interactions, intelligence gathering, enforcement and targeting activity, which are key to preventing threats at the border.
Work is also underway to expand the range of nationalities that are able to use SmartGate terminals when they arrive at any of Australia's eight major international airports.
Over the next 12 months, a series of trials are planned to expand access to SmartGate to a range of nationalities such as Canadians, Irish, Malaysians, Japanese, Chinese, Indians, French and more.
'As the number of travellers arriving at Australian airports continues to increase, it's important that our officers have access to the best tools and technology to focus on high-risk travellers at the border, while facilitating a smooth and trouble-free experience for legitimate travellers,' Minister Morrison said.
Minister Morrison today also officially launched the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service Queensland Regional Command, the second of five regional commands to roll-out across the country as part of the Service's recently launched Strategic Border Command model.
The establishment of Strategic Border Command—which I launched at the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service Victoria Regional Command opening on 3 July—is a critical 'building block' in the creation of the Australian Border Force.
Strategic Border Command ensures better monitoring of our borders 24-7 in real time, from a central headquarters in Canberra, while connecting to Regional Command centres to monitor live operations and deploy border resources as needed.
'The Strategic Border Command has an all-encompassing operational picture showing all the moving parts, both legal and illegal activity, at the border. As the nerve centre of our border protection reforms, it improves our knowledge of criminal activity and border threats as well as boosts our operational capacity to rapidly respond to threats at the frontline,' Minister Morrison said.
The Queensland Regional Command border footprint is significant.
Queensland Regional Command is responsible for 14 ports and facilitating traveller movements across three major international airports including at Brisbane, Cairns and the Gold Coast.
'Since Queensland Regional Command was stood up it has seized more than 200 kilograms of illicit drugs and precursors and continues to join forces with partner agencies such as Queensland Police to dismantle criminal syndicates from breaching the Queensland border,' Minister Morrison said.
At the heart of these border protection announcements is stronger borders.
The establishment of the Strategic Border Command and Regional Command model combined with the roll-out of the automated departures eGates and SmartGate expansion demonstrates this Government's solid commitment to the Australian people for stronger border protection.
'The combination of these announcements will be a powerful multiplier in our efforts to both protect our borders, and deliver a strong and prosperous Australia,' Minister Morrison said.
URL:http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/sm/2014/sm217616.htm
Last update: Friday, 05 September 2014 at 13:57 AEST