Mr RICHARDSON (4:49 PM) —Mr Deputy Speaker, I was saying before the debate on the Customs Legislation Amendment (Border Compliance and Other Measures) Bill 2006 was interrupted that this bill simply seeks to make necessary minor amendments to ensure that our Customs personnel are equipped with an appropriate level of power to do their jobs effectively. It is necessary to alter this legislation to keep up with and adapt to the ever-changing circumstances our Customs organisation is forced to operate in.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend and congratulate the men and women of the Australian Customs Service for their hard work and for the exceptional job they have done and continue to do to protect our nation. Again, these amendments are commonsense. These cards are necessary for airport employees to undertake their jobs. However, it is necessary that, if these people are to be granted access to areas which are tightly controlled by the Customs Service, Customs is able to obtain up-to-date information about who they are. This is simply a commonsense amendment to ensure the integrity of those areas of international airports under the control of the Australian Customs Service. For those reasons, I commend this bill to the House.