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Monday, 19 March 2012
Page: 3226

Mr MORRISON (Cook) (12:02): I move:

That so much of standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Cook from moving the following motion forthwith—That the Prime Minister immediately commission an independent inquiry into the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and Australia Post regarding the findings of the NSW Police investigation where up to 220 Glock pistols had been allegedly illegally imported to Australia through the Sylvania Waters Post Office and that the inquiry investigate, report and make recommendations in relation to this specific incident and any related incidents, including:

(1) how, when and why these weapon components were able to be allegedly imported into Australia and evade the detection of the ACBPS and seek to determine accountability for any failures identified;

(2) the adequacy of systems, resources and practice within the ACBPS for the detection of such items being imported and an overview of systems, resources and practices employed, including the impact of budget cuts to ACBPS as well as any institutional arrangements or organisational cultural factors that may adversely impact on the operations and capacity of the ACBPS;

(3) a review and assessment of the risk management strategies employed by ACBPS to assist the detection of the importation of weapons, including intelligence gathering, analysis, enforcement and investigation capabilities and integration with other border and law enforcement agencies;

(4) the level of exposure within Australia's network of more than 4,400 post office agencies including adequacy of security checks and procedures, the capacity to monitor compliance and proactively identify and investigate irregular activity;

(5) the appropriateness and consistency of the legal framework and penalty regime for the importation of weapons and related offences in the federal jurisdiction with possession, distribution and related offences in state and territory jurisdictions;

(6) any matters relating to the operation and policies of agencies in other national jurisdictions and cooperation with such agencies and other international agencies or Australia's international relations more broadly; and

(7) an assessment of the current and future level of risk and exposure to weapons importation based on current resources, systems and practices of the ACBPS and Australia Post.

This is an urgent matter that requires the suspension of standing orders immediately.