Mr PYNE (12:45 PM) —Illegal immigration, and more specifically people smuggling, is not only a threat to Australian society; it is a scourge of the most tragic kind on the international community. Illegal immigration has two major forms: people overstay ing their visas and people entering Australia illegally, usually by boat and often with the aid of professional, organised people smugglers. While both forms of illegal immigration should not be tolerated, it is the growing practice of people smuggling which is causing an enormous amount of concern. People in countries with fewer opportunities than Australia who are understandably wanting to make a better life for themselves and their families are courted by professional, organised people smugglers.

This is a problem of expanding proportions. One set of statistics recently put forward indicates that Australia has already received a record number of boat people this year, with 56 boats carrying 1,498 people compared with the previous peak of 21 boats and 1,026 people in 1994-95. There has been no comprehensive analysis of this apparent increase in illegal immigration. However, one explanation advanced is that illegal immigration is increasing because of recent instability in the South-East Asian region, particularly the dramatic events that have been unfolding in Indonesia over the last year. It is one of the several reasons why peace and stability in the area are in the interests of Australia.

The business of people smuggling is not a problem confined to Australia. Japan is also experiencing the same problems. Make no mistake: people traders do not ply their craft due to any altruistic reasons. They are preying on the vulnerable and seeking to maximise their own personal gain.

There is mounting evidence that those who are organising the people-smuggling rackets are using the most nefarious means of inducing people into illegally emigrating to Australia. They harness the hopes of their victims with false promises. Promises of instant employment upon arrival are common fare; some organised people smugglers tell their prey that they can immediately earn between $20 and $30 an hour working in Australia. They allay their fears of being caught by falsely assuring them that Australian authorities are powerless to extradite them and it is easy to qualify for permanent residency. With no other information readily available, those desperate for a better life submit themselves to the terms and conditions imposed on them by organised people smugglers. In effect, they are unknowingly committing themselves to a life of slavery.

For the organised people smugglers, it is all about debt bondage—the practice of smuggling people into a country such as Australia and making them pay off that debt when they arrive in the country. This is not a debt that can be realistically settled. In real terms the debt can be the equivalent of $A50,000. In practice, repayments can only be made by working off the debt, usually through illegal activities such as prostitution and drug smuggling on behalf of the organised people smugglers. But their rate of pay is so low and their payments to their employer for living costs are so high that it is virtually impossible for them to ever pay off their bondage debt.

They face a life of servitude at the hands of organised crime gangs. Their servitude can also take other forms, such as loan sharking, protection rackets, money laundering operations, importation and distribution of narcotics, kidnapping, fraud, vice, extortion, contract killing, slave trading and the tragic practice of child prostitution.

The Sydney Morning Herald recently reported that hundreds of new brothels have opened across Sydney and dozens of illegal workers are being deported routinely after being found working in brothels by compliance officers from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. Estimates put forward by federal government departments suggest there are up to 300 sex slaves in Australia, the majority of whom are illegal immigrants and have originally come from our South-East Asian region.

It is difficult to comprehend that people are being subjected to this sort of tragic existence in Australia, but it is a problem of expanding proportions. Tackling this affliction in our society requires a multistrategy integrated approach. Recently in this House we debated legislation which will help with the policing of sex slavery at a domestic level. The coalition government is committed to incorporating other strategies to minimise the penetration of transnational organised crime into Australia, and I am sure we are supported by the Labor opposition in all those attempts.

In this respect, the Border Protection Legislation Amendment Bill 1999 before the House will effectively interact with the coalition government's Criminal Code Amendment (Slavery and Sexual Servitude) Bill 1999 . This bill prescribes penalties of up to 25 years imprisonment for those convicted of intentionally owning a slave or exercising power over somebody that is the equivalent to slavery, which includes debt bondage and associated practices.

But transnational organised crime has become a major international epidemic, continually evolving and keeping abreast of technological advancements. As new business and economic opportunities surface, the tentacles of organised crime are never far away. Organised crime gangs have an incredible ability not only to adapt to change but then to expand. We all know that globalisation has rationalised, centralised and modernised national economies, but it is also true that globalisation has rationalised, centralised and modernised organised crime groups. Organised criminal activity has become a growth industry and is manifested in a myriad of ways.

As competition between international organised crime groups increases, power struggles are likely to be replaced by mergers between gangs to efficiently use resources, maximise profit and profit making opportunities, and to improve risk management practices by pooling intelligence to counter surveillance and investigation. If it all sounds like big business, that is because it is. That is why illegal immigration and the debt bondage it brings are so important to organised crime gangs. They are able to use the people they smuggle into a country as dispensable foot soldiers. It is an effective way of putting another barrier between the organised crime bosses and the law enforcement agencies. It also reinforces the fact that organised transnational crime can be effectively tackled only through a coordinated international approach.

To that end, Australia joined more than 140 countries at the World Ministerial Conference on Organised Transnational Crime, which was held in Naples almost five years ago. The outcome of the conference was an action plan to develop a holistic approach to combat transnational organised crime by the harmonisation of national legislation. Central to the action plan is the tenet that all countries must work together in responding to this threat.

In December 1998, the United Nations General Assembly built on these foundations and established an ad hoc committee with a target date of September 2000 for completion of its work. Australia has been represented at all four of the preparatory meetings and has participated actively in the negotiation and consideration. Discussions to date have focused on extradition, mutual assistance and the recovery of proceeds of crime. Further conferences will deal with illegal immigration and associated issues. Two more convention conferences are planned for October and December this year and will canvass additional instruments to deal with the illegal trafficking in women and children, the illegal trafficking in and transporting of immigrants, and the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.

At a domestic level, the coalition government is committed to tackling illegal immigration. This will have the supplementary effect of suffocating the labour source of the organised crime gangs that are currently operating in Australia. It would be a small but significant step in the fight against organised crime at a domestic level, particularly organised crime with overseas links.

Illegal immigration also presents other problems for Australia. Unlike legal immigrants, who undergo extensive medical tests, illegal immigrants do not necessarily come into Australia with a clean bill of health. Some illegal immigrants have arrived with life-threatening disease like cancer and motor neuron disorders. This situation has enormous potential to create serious problems for our health system.

There are also concerns that illegal immigration may threaten Australia's refugee program—a humanitarian contribution of which we can all be proud. As the number of illegal immigrants being caught and detained increases, it places a strain on our financial and logistical capacity to service our refugee program that presently assists about 12,000 genuine cases every year.

In June 1999, the coalition government established a coastal surveillance task force. The task force made a number of recommendations relating to Australia's coastal surveillance system, in particular a recommendation that `comprehensive legislative amendments be introduced to further strengthen maritime investigatory and enforcement powers against both Australian and foreign flag vessels'. The task force also resolved to utilise the jurisdiction conferred on Australia in relation to such matters by virtue of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. As the world's largest island nation, it is imperative that Australia has the capacity to adequately protect its borders from illegal immigration. Of course, the sheer magnitude of our sea border makes this a difficult, if not impossible, task to do comprehensively. But the coalition government is working hard to improve our nation's capacity to effectively monitor our borders.

Last weekend, I was pleased to attend the launch of a new $7 million antismuggling vessel in my home state of South Australia. This new vessel will significantly boost Australia's fight against people smuggling and drug smuggling. Named the Holdfast Bay—after the area where Governor John Hindmarsh anchored his vessel Buffalo when he came ashore to proclaim South Australia as a colony—the vessel is the third of eight to be built by August 2000 to replace six older vessels. Those vessels have the latest technology to protect our borders. They can sail in the most extreme conditions and can be at sea for up to 23 days. That means better protection for our national border and a safer Australia. It confirms this government's commitment to be tough on drugs and tough on illegal immigration.

These new vessels will also make our border protection efforts more cost effective. At present, it costs Australia's taxpayers about $20,500 for each illegal immigrant to be located and removed from Australia. The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs estimates that, by next year, it will cost about $20 million a year for the government to fight refugee claims from illegal immigrants.

There are also monitoring practices that the coalition government is helping to make more cost effective. The cost of exercising surveillance of a ship that is suspected of being involved in people smuggling is enormous, particularly when Coastwatch flights are necessary, a matter the member for Maribyrnong commented on at great length in his contribution to this debate. Of course the expenditure on Coastwatch is very necessary but, if it is possible to deliver a more effective service at a lower cost, the government is obliged to implement it.

The bill presently before the House will remove some of the legislative restrictions. It is a bill that will help reduce illegal immigration and people smuggling. It is a measure that may produce the spin-off effects of destabilising some of the organised crime gangs in Australia that predominantly rely on slave labour from illegal immigrants they have brought here. This legislation will provide that the crew of boats such as the Holdfast Bay will have the authority to possess side-arms for the purposes of firing warning shots and for protection when boarding ships suspected of being involved in illegal activities such as people smuggling.

It is important to appreciate that people smugglers and the illegal immigrants they are bringing to our shores feel that they have nothing to lose if approached by a Customs boat. For the illegal immigrants, there is not much to return home to and, for the professional organised people smugglers, there is too much at stake. Our Customs officials need some form of personal protection under those sorts of circumstances.

For the first time, Customs officials will also be able to detain and board suspect vessels in international waters, which start at 200 nautical miles from the Australian coast, or the continental shelf. This is in keeping with international treaties which are promoting an integrated approach to combating transnational organised crime and illegal immigration. This legislation gives our Cus toms authorities more teeth in fighting illegal immigration by complementing other legislation and initiatives introduced by this government. It also complies with international best practice management, and it offers some personal protection measures for Customs authorities who are patrolling our coastal borders.

It is legislation that may curb the flow of illegal immigrants into our country. It may also serve to starve some of the transnational organised crime gangs that are operating in Australia of the slave labour that they rely so heavily on. But, just as importantly, it will help serve a very humanitarian purpose: it will help spare some illegal immigrants from a life of slavery to organised crime gangs. I commend the bill to the House.