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CUSTOMS OFFICERS FACE CHALLENGE IN EAST TIMOR Australian Customs Involvement in Helping to Rebuild East Timor | National Surveillance Centre Opening | Output Pricing Review | Public Service Medal - Jenny Peachey Australian Customs Service officers overcame many logistical and physical challenges in East Timor this year in assisting in the rebuilding of border controls. Under very difficult professional and personal circumstances that included an element of personal danger, the six officers of Customs first contingent were confronted with an absence of any physical and administrative infrastructure to support the re-establishment of border controls. 'When we arrived in East Timor it was apparent that this was not going to be a simple matter of doing the usual tasks' said Team Leader Neil Sugget. 'We had to be prepared to find ways to get things done despite numerous obstacles inherent in the re-building process.' The deployment resulted from a request by the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) for assistance in re-establishing customs and immigration controls. Before leaving, all Customs officers went through intensive and rigorous training to prepare them for living in some of the most inhospitable and remote areas of East Timor. The first group left in March 2000. The group's task included training East Timorese recruits and establishing controls along the land border with West Timor. As well, the group had to establish physical infrastructure at each land border crossing, including finding suitable accommodation for East Timorese staff. Baggage searches conducted in extreme humidity on the wharf served as a reminder of the region's recent troubles with items like grenades, rifles and machetes being confiscated. In the absence of a legal and administrative framework, officers worked closely with the United Nations legal branch to develop procedures for the East Timor Border Control Service. With the assistance of the Peacekeeping Forces, a framework to control the movement of people and goods across the border was implemented. Training East Timorese staff was a high priority. A basic training course was provided to approximately 180 recruits for the Border Control Service. An officer seconded to a senior training position was responsible for establishing a Human Resource Management Branch, including the design and implementation of training courses. The redevelopment work continued at the end of the first contingent's three month assignment with a second contingent of Customs officers sent to East Timor in June 2000. The taxes imposed at the borders were the only form of income being raised by the interim government, making collection especially important. The difficulties faced in developing the border controls with West Timor could easily have overwhelmed the officers. It is a testament to the resourcefulness and determination of the group that they achieved so much. Back to top NERVE CENTRE OF COASTAL SURVEILLANCE The National Surveillance Centre (NSC) is the nerve centre for the civil maritime surveillance of Australia's 37,000km of coastline and 14 000 000 km2 of ocean territory. It is the coordination point for information and intelligence used to marshall responses from the aircraft and ships continuously patrolling the coastline. The NSC is located in Customs House and is linked electronically to relevant agencies across Australia. There are satellite communication links to Coastwatch aircraft and Customs Marine Unit vessels, as well as secure systems for the passage of intelligence and related information from a range of civilian and defence sources. While opening the centre on 5 April 2000, the Prime Minister said the high level of cooperation between Customs, the AFP, Defence and state police forces was impressive and reassuring. He said that Coastwatch was dealing with an existing, but growing challenge - illegal drug importation - and also with the comparatively new phenomenon of illegal immigration as well as a diverse range of client requirements across the enforcement spectrum. The upgraded, 24-hour-a-day, high-tech centre is instrumental in coordinating relevant surveillance operations and information dissemination necessary to detect and deter any attempts to illegally import drugs, or other prohibited goods, into Australia. All responses to sightings of suspected illegal immigrants, foreign fishing vessels, quarantine breaches and environmental concerns are also coordinated through the NSC. Back to top OUTPUT PRICING REVIEW International customs organisations have been seeking to achieve improved effectiveness and Customs has worked toward improving this on a number of fronts over the past six years. By comparing itself against the performance of other global customs organisations, Customs is confident that it is achieving its mission - to be a world leader in Customs administration. As part of the Government's decision to test the pricing of all its services, Customs was one of the first agencies selected for an output pricing review which was jointly conducted with the Department of Finance and Administration (DOFA). It examined the cost, quality, efficiency and effectiveness of Customs outputs in order to inform Ministers about appropriateness of Customs funding. The review examined each of Customs five outputs, with a total cost in 1998-1999 of $400m. DOFA and Customs prioritised and applied different levels of review to each output component. The majority were subjected to detailed review or desk- based performance review. A small number affected by major re-engineering and recent or impending Government review or investment decisions, were reviewed in less detail. Detailed review included external benchmarking, time series benchmarking, and 'value studies'. External benchmarking involved eight overseas Customs and immigration administrations, a major international airline, and six Commonwealth agencies. Previous international Customs benchmarking and independent studies by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), other external auditors, and the air transport industry also were considered. The pricing review concluded that Customs provides good value for money, and that its output prices are reasonable. Services were typically of very high quality, but were increasingly stretched by workload growth. It found that Customs delivered wide-ranging and effective border control, consistent with current Government requirements. Outcomes of the Output Pricing Review are detailed under Customs Outcome, Output One, Output Two and Output Four. Back to top PUBLIC SERVICE MEDAL TO JENNY PEACHEY Work done to improve the Commonwealth's financial management practices resulted in current Office of Business Systems National Director Jenny Peachey receiving a Public Service Medal on Australia Day 2000. Jenny is just the third Customs officer to be awarded the Public Service Medal for outstanding public service in the Australia Day honours list. She was particularly recognised for her contribution to improving Commonwealth financial management practices. Seconded to the Management Advisory Board (MAB) in 1997, she led a team of five senior Commonwealth public servants to produce a report, Beyond Bean Counting - Effective Financial Management in the APS - 1998 and Beyond, issued in December 1997. Customs Deputy Chief Executive Officer John Drury said: 'The results which came from her management of the project are now starting to be felt within the Australian Public Service at large and there is little doubt that her leadership provided the particular quality which has led to the results being so worthwhile.' Previous recipients were John Vandeloo in 1998 for his work on a breeding and rearing program for drug detector dogs and Paul Murphy in 1990 for his significant contribution to the Public Service and Customs. Back to top | Previous |
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