Customs will receive an additional $333 million over the next four years, ensuring it has the necessary resources to meet emerging challenges to Australia's borders, the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Chris Ellison said tonight. The funding, announced as part of the Howard Government's 2006-07 Federal Budget, includes capital funding of $22.6 million.

Senator Ellison said the package reflected the Government's ongoing commitment to national security by boosting Customs' capabilities in the areas of illegal foreign fishing, maritime security and air cargo checks.

"Since coming to office in 1996, the Government has increased funding to Customs by about $580 million, or more than 160 per cent in nominal terms," Senator Ellison said.

"This has ensured that Customs has the personnel, technology and training to deal with emerging security and criminal threats to Australia's borders - be it in the air, at sea, or on land."

Key Budget initiatives include:

• $197.4 million (including capital funding of $5.3 million) over the next four years to boost the capability of Customs and Coastwatch to detect and apprehend more illegal foreign fishing boats, as well as transport and process the additional fishermen who are detained. Under a new whole-of-government strategy, Customs and the Royal Australian Navy will increase the number of apprehensions from 300 to approximately 650.
• $35.1 million (including capital funding of $4.5 million) over the next four years to enhance Customs' capability to inspect and respond to 'high-risk' export air cargo. This will be achieved through the deployment of additional explosives detector-dog teams, the provision of additional mobile X-ray vans, and working with industry to undertake a number of trials to test a variety of existing and emerging explosives-detection technologies.
• $12.9 million (including capital funding of $2.7 million) over the next four years to equip Customs officers with personal defence equipment. A further 600 Customs officers located around Australia will be trained and supplied with equipment including side arms, batons, capsicum spray, handcuffs and body armour. This initiative will enhance the personal safety of Customs officers undertaking work in increasingly dangerous environments.
• $14.9 million (including capital funding of $2.2 million) over the next four years to more than double the number of Customs officers deployed to the expanding Western Australian port of Dampier. This will ensure Customs retains the ability to board up to 75 to 80 per cent of international merchant vessels when they first arrive at Dampier, a port which receives more first port vessel arrivals than any other in Australia.
• $27.2 million (including capital funding of $7.6 million) over the next four years to further enhance CCTV monitoring and analysis capability at Australian international airports. A National Monitoring Centre will be established to improve coordination, management and analysis of CCTV imagery across airport networks. In the initial stage, three airports will be linked to the Centre. Storage and back-up capabilities will also be improved.
• $7.1 million (including capital funding of $0.2 million) over the next three years to assist countries in the Southeast Asian region to enhance their border control systems, with a focus on their counter terrorism role. This builds on early progress made under the Customs Sulu and Celebes Seas regional counter terrorism initiative that includes assistance activities such as training for appropriate regional border control agencies in intelligence, ship search, chemical precursors (explosives and drugs), counter terrorism awareness, commodity identification, and passenger control. The provision of relevant border technologies will include dual-purpose (explosives and drugs) trace detection systems in high risk Southeast Asian regional ports.
• $1.6 million (including capital funding of $0.1 million) over the next four years for new Customs positions established within three new multi-agency Identity Security Strike Teams (ISSTs) being established by the Australian Federal Police. The ISSTs will build specialist investigative, intelligence and technical knowledge that will substantially increase Australia's ability to detect, deter, investigate and prosecute people and syndicates involved in the manufacture of false identities.
• $1.6 million in 2006-07 for additional Customs officers and IT systems upgrades to implement counter-terrorist financing provisions in the Anti-Terrorism (No 2) Bill 2005. These additional resources will allow Customs to assess the new requirement for the reporting of cross-border transfers of bearer negotiable instruments, which include traveller's cheques.
• $20.2 million over the next two years to increase Coastwatch flying hours in order to provide increased surveillance and patrolling of high threat maritime approaches to Australia. The increased funding will provide an additional 2,200 flying hours above the current flying program.

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