Border control
Introduction
Australia has faced obstacles in the control of its borders, with globalisation and the increased cross-border flow of trade, finance and population movement. This has brought with it an increase in the level of transnational crime, including the illegal movement of drugs, arms and people. It has been estimated that four million people are smuggled across international borders each year. In this light, Australia's government has sought the enhancement of its border controls and the increased international cooperation of law enforcement. Methods for doing this include the increased maritime patrol of borders by the Australian Defence Force (ADF), technological innovations by the Australian Customs Service, offshore processing (the 'Pacific Solution') and mandatory immigration detention for illegal migrants and asylum seekers. Some of these methods, such as immigration detention, have attracted criticism. For example, groups like Amnesty International have argued for better, economically more viable and humane ways of handling asylum seekers. Others, however, have justified Australia's stance by insisting that Australia remains the world's third largest recipient of refugees for resettlement and, further, that Australians rather than people smugglers should decide who comes to Australia. This chapter discusses Australia's border protection issues with regard to people smuggling, immigration detention, military defence, customs technology, and international agreements.
Border protection
The Australian Government's border protection policy has two main objectives. These firstly include the deterrents to unlawful migrants-those who arrive in Australia without a visa or whose visa expires-and secondly the deportation of unlawful migrants unless they are accepted as refugees. Methods for implementing these and tackling the challenges to them are outlined below.
People smuggling
People smuggling has become a global criminal enterprise estimated by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to be worth $US10 billion a year. It is further estimated that four million people are smuggled across international borders each year. The increased number of these has resulted in policy changes regarding refugees to deter future arrivals. Those arriving by boat or other means without official classification as refugees are no longer granted refugee status on arrival. Many of these asylum seekers are turned away due to the excision of some parts of Australia from the official migration zone. Such excised areas include Christmas Island, Manus Island, Melville Island, Cocos Islands, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, and Nauru. Arrivals landing outside the migration zone have been transferred to offshore processing centres where their claims for asylum are assessed. In 2001, such facilities were established on Nauru and in Papua New Guinea to combat increasing numbers of unauthorised arrivals and the influence of criminal organisations involved in people smuggling. Australia has addressed this issue more broadly by disrupting people smuggling operations overseas and by supporting efforts by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to reduce the flow of people seeking to leave their homelands.
Immigration detention
Since 1994, unlawful migrants and asylum seekers without visas or those who have overstayed visas have been subject to mandatory immigration detention while a determination is made as to whether they may enter Australia or will be deported. This process is aimed at ensuring that health, identity and security checks are conducted and that asylum seekers are given access to appropriate services for the processing of visa applications. Immigration detention for administrative purposes is constitutionally valid and consistent with Australia's international obligations. The approach, however, has been criticised by human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, who argue for better, economically more viable and humane ways of handling asylum seekers, and the UN Human Rights Committee, which in its review of Australia's human rights record, suggested that it may be in breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Debate in Australia is ongoing about the length of time that detainees are kept in detention and the effect this has on mental health. Such effects are argued to include evidence of trauma, self-harm and the need for psychological help for some detainees over long periods.
Defence roles
Defence personnel have been involved in measures taken by the Australian Government to detect and deter the landing of illegal immigrants entering with the assistance of people smugglers. Such measures include the establishment of coastal surveillance with electronic links to State government and defence agencies, as well as additions made to aircraft capability with night-capable helicopters deployed in the Torres Strait and other areas. Bilateral agreements with countries identified as being sources and transit-points for people smugglers, particularly to the north-west of Australia, have enforced such calls for involvement by Australia's defence force. An example of such incidents came in 2001, when the Norwegian vessel, MV Tampa, picked up 433 asylum-seekers from a boat sinking in international waters between Australia and Indonesia. Australia's government ordered Tampa not to enter Australian waters but the captain defied the order and moved towards the territory of Christmas Island. The SAS was ordered to board the vessel. Since then there has been an increase in the number of naval and air force patrols of international waters between Australia and Indonesia.
Border control technology
Airport customs
In 2004-2005, Australia's government spent $9.7 million on technological developments for customs personnel in combating identity fraud committed by technically sophisticated terrorists or criminals at Australian airports. Such developments have mainly been in biometric technology used for automated face-recognition and passport verification, to be compatible with US border control equipment. Research has shown that this technology is effective in detecting people who have applied for passports under false names.
Maritime security
Since 2001, Australia's government has funded bases which incorporate X-ray technology to inspect sea containers at Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle ports. These have significantly enhanced the ability of customs personnel to inspect sea containers for drugs, other contraband and undeclared goods. The facility in Brisbane has one of the highest inspection rates for sea containers in the world, overseeing more than 100 000 containers (seven per cent of arriving containers) annually. A nationwide, networked closed circuit television (CCTV) system to monitor Australia's waterfront has also been funded since the late 1990s. This has covered more than half of Australia's designated international seaports and enabled 24-hour surveillance of 88 separate wharves from 23 different locations to protect against safety and security threats such as drug trafficking and infected goods.
Biological and chemical screening
An ongoing focus has been put on the threat of biological, chemical and radiation agents, particularly since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Australia's government has contributed $13.9 million over four years to the increase of equipment available to customs personnel in combating this potential threat. The proposed equipment has included raman spectrometers for identifying chemical substances and gas chromatograph-mass and ion mobility spectrometers for the detection and identification of toxic chemical gases and vapours, as well as explosives and drugs. Funds have also been put into mail-screening technology, such as X-rays for mass screening of mail items at airports and metal detection technology at certain postal facilities; and into the training of detector dog teams (DDTs) used to intercept drugs, and of firearms and explosive detector dogs (FEDDs) working in maritime and freight environments. See animation 1
Regional agreements
Australia has engaged in regional cooperation arrangements with other countries as a means of combating such transnational criminal activity as drug trafficking and people smuggling. Agreements have been signed with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei, and negotiations have been made with other governments with diplomatic, legislative, police and intelligence cooperation. Assistance in direct military involvement and border controls has also been implemented. Other initiatives have included international summits on the issue of people smuggling, aid to countries of origin for refugees in the Middle East and South West Asia, and reforms to ensure protection is available to those in countries where they first seek asylum. Further, Australian customs services and law enforcement officials, including the Australian Federal Police, have been based at overseas posts in the United States, Belgium, Japan, Thailand, China and Indonesia (including the regional Joint Cooperative Law Enforcement Centre in Jakarta), to assist the customs and law enforcement agencies in these countries to address the border security issues of counter terrorism, narcotics and people smuggling.
ASEAN Regional Forum
Regional cooperation in the area of border control is reflected in Australia's formal treaties and international agreements. These include participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Today it is the only security forum in Australia's region in which countries meet to discuss related issues. The group includes Burma, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Australia works with ASEAN as a dialogue partner in expanding its security links and looking at the border control problems of people smuggling, refugees, transnational crime and piracy, environmental protection and counter-terrorism on a diplomatic level.
