Topics: Morrison Government funding for AFP organised crime strike teams, Ukraine, Cook preselection, Department of Home Affairs staff.
KAREN ANDREWS: Well, thank you very much. It’s an absolute pleasure to be here this morning with the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police Reece Kershaw to make some announcements in relation to transnational serious and organised crime. Now, we all know that serious and organised crime is a threat to our safety and to our security here in Australia. The Australian Federal Police do an outstanding job working to make sure that we are kept safe and secure, taking action against the bikies, the triads, the mafia. That’s what serious and organised crime is all about. The Morrison Government has funded the Australian Federal Police $1.7 billion, and in the Budget, we announced additional funding that would be going into a number of different measures that would make sure that Australians are kept safe and secure. Today we’re speaking specifically about the establishment of two transnational serious and organised crime taskforces. There’ll be two task forces that are set up; one will be based around Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney, and the other one will be based around – working in the areas of Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin. Their focus is to deal with issues of organised crime. That includes illicit drugs, weapons and money laundering. We know here in Australia we have to make sure that we are keeping our borders safe. That means that we’re doing all that we possibly can to keep out drugs, firearms, weapons and, of course, money laundering is a significant issue to us all. Now, the Morrison Government has passed some legislation recently in relation to trafficking of firearms. That legislation passed the Parliament in the last sitting week, which includes measures such as mandatory sentencing, increasing penalties for those who are trafficking in firearms. The federal Labor Party has not been supportive of this legislation for five years but in an amazing backflip at the last minute, they supported the legislation and it was able to pass the Parliament. And whilst I’m pleased that the Labor Party did choose to support that legislation, it is disappointing that it took them five years to come to the realisation that Australia and Australians need to be protected and that importation of illegal firearms was something that the community needed to be protected from. So I’ll invite Commissioner Kershaw to make some further comments in relation to the strike teams that are being established, particularly from an operational perspective. Commissioner Kershaw.
REECE KERSHAW: Well, thanks, Minister, and good morning, everyone. The budget on Tuesday announced some significant measures for the Australian Federal Police, including two organised crime strike teams. And the East Coast Strike Team, as the Minister stated, will have a presence here on the Gold Coast, and the Southern States Strike Team, another stake in the ground in the fight against transnational serious and organised crime. These teams will focus on disrupting illicit drug and firearm trafficking, money laundering and other serious crime, and will also expand the criminal asset confiscation capability as we know criminals really despise it when we only take away – when we not only take away their freedom but also their assets paid for from the proceeds of crime. So whether it’s property, cash, cryptocurrency or vehicles, even jewellery or high-end handbags, if it is paid with proceeds of crime, it is within the reach of the AFP. And building on the success of Operation Ironside and super charged with more powers and more capability, more technology and more intelligence, we are identifying, charging and dismantling these criminal networks who once thought they were untouchable. And it’s never been more risky for outlaw motorcycle gangs, Italian organised crime, cartels and triads. And let me tell you – our strike teams are within striking distance, and we know those groups fear what we can do. And they should. We are not going to stop because the AFP will always instinctively protect Australians and Australia’s way of life. Thank you, and happy to take some questions.
JOURNALIST: Commissioner, will this new strike force run alongside [Indistinct], which already operates out of the Gold Coast, or will they have nothing to do with each other?
REECE KERSHAW: It’s an additional capability, so, yes, it will complement what’s in the existing structures across the country. And coupled with our new Surveillance Legislation (Identify and Disrupt) Act powers – that’s network activity, warrants, account takeover warrants and data disruption warrants – this team will have the specialist capability to be able to undertake and attack organised crime like we never have before.
JOURNALIST: When will this become operational? Is it operational as of now or is it –
REECE KERSHAW: Yeah, pretty much now. So we’ll move pretty quickly. And we’re using those powers right now. And we’ve had to report those. We have – one of our powers, our network activity warrant, we have to report to an independent oversight inspector-general, and that’s already occurred. So we are mapping out these networks and we’re coming after them. And I’ve stated this before – we’ll go after the logistics, we’ll go after their finance and we’ll go after their communication and we’ll dismantle these networks.
JOURNALIST: Are there any particular gangs of concern at the moment?
REECE KERSHAW: Yeah, there are. I mean, as I said, outlaw motorcycle gangs, they are continually basing themselves offshore. These are Australians. And we know the reason why is because we’ve been able to create a hostile environment here in Australia. But the AFP has a world-class international network. That’s how we were able to deliver Ironside. And the assistant commissioner to my left here might want to talk a little bit more about that, because he is Mr Ironside and was able to operationalize that investigation and take out those individuals. I mean, we’re up to 350 arrests, 770-odd search warrants and, you know, close to 50 million in cash and about 6 tonne in illicit drugs seized here in Australia.
JOURNALIST: Just on operational – I understand there’s probably some sensitivity around the actual operations, but are you able to give us a rough indication of, I guess, how many officers are sort of involved in this particular taskforce?
REECE KERSHAW: Yes, so it will be over 120 will be set up across the country. And, as I said, they’ll have specialist capability and will be able to go after their assets with the increase in our criminal asset team as well. So it’s a multidiscipline approach, which is the way of how we attack these gangs. And, as I said, those three prongs, we go after them. And we don’t work alone. We will be working with other Home Affairs agencies, you know, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the Australian Border Force and AUSTRAC.
JOURNALIST: Is there a particular base of operations? I mean, is here –
REECE KERSHAW: There’ll be a presence here. So wherever – and it’s a mobile, flexible model. And that’s how we’re having to be. You move to where the crime is. And unfortunately on the Gold Coast here we know that there is an outlaw motorcycle gang and other criminal entities that operate from here and set up base here. And we’re going to go after them, in particular their assets and also their drug and money laundering activities.
JOURNALIST: Has that growing trend of organised crime [Indistinct] into places like Bali or Dubai and things like that generated the need for this strike force?
REECE KERSHAW: Part of it, yes, because what’s happened is that these individuals have decided to move offshore into countries that make it difficult for us to extradite them back here to Australia. But here’s the thing: they are living pretty much a lonely life in the sense that they know that they’re wanted, they know that we’ll extradite them, and we’re not going to give up. We’ll be here, you know, for many, many years to come making sure we pursue justice for those victims but also it’s the right thing to do.
JOURNALIST: Will this mean an expansion of resources for the AFP, or is it just about shifting around existing resources?
REECE KERSHAW: No, it’s an expansion of our resources, which we’re very grateful for and very pleased to see this announcement.
JOURNALIST: Will the average person see any changes in terms of, say, for example, extra AFP at airports or dogs, that type of thing?
REECE KERSHAW: That’s part of it overall. We’re building our presence. And, as you know, with now the airports opening back up – you know, I was even hearing today from our airport commander – that I think this airport’s at 120 per cent and getting busier. So we’re having to make sure we’ve got enough resources to deal with those surges and we’re growing accordingly with our budget.
JOURNALIST: Commissioner, does this have a time line or is it open ended?
REECE KERSHAW: It’s a four-year announcement. But then under our – what we call – it’s a bit technical – but our sustainable funding model it’s rolled into our base.
JOURNALIST: Given that you’re targeting the Gold Coast here as well, are there concerns that the city could experience bikie wars like it did years back?
REECE KERSHAW: I’d hope not. I think what we’ve discovered is that they’re all – when it comes to profiteering they’re happy to actually work with each other, their arch enemies, which, you know, goes to show some of the values these bikies have, which they don’t have any at all and they don’t share Australian values. So, for us it’s – we work with QPS and other agencies here to make sure that doesn’t occur. And we’ll be ready for that. And that’s why the illicit trafficking of firearms is very critical to us to make sure that we can identify those groups and take them out.
JOURNALIST: I guess with the timing of all of this, was there any, I guess, lull or drop over the past couple of years considering the borders were closed, and is this, I guess, the timing now as everything opens up [Indistinct]?
REECE KERSHAW: Yeah, it certainly presented a challenge for those groups logistically, and we saw that. But my view is that Ironside really delivered a pretty significant punch into organised crime. If you have a look at the waste water analysis, there’s definitely a drop in consumption because we hit supply pretty hard. And my view is that damaged there operating models. They’ve had to try and adapt, and we’re adapting even further. So for us it is don’t target Australia – you target and we’ll lock you up.
JOURNALIST: A question for the minister. Minister, some might be a bit cynical about this announcement on the eve of an election. Could some people read this as an attempt to look tough on crime just before an election kicks off?
KAREN ANDREWS: The Morrison Government, the Coalition, has always been tough on crime and we’ve demonstrated that year after year, after year. So what you’re seeing today is the culmination of a significant amount of work to take out the bikies, the triads, the cartels, the mafia as much as we possibly can here in Australia. So the announcement goes to the establishment of two specific strike teams that will focus on cleaning up the problems that we have here in Australia with organised crime. Now that work was already started under an operation that’s known as Operation Ironside. Ironside was a collaboration, it was an operation jointly between the Australian Federal Police and the FBI and other agencies around the world that targeted organised crime. Now here on the Gold Coast we do see a bikie presence and we do see them fighting each other every now and then as well, too. But a lot of the things that the bikies do are not visible every single day but the effects are; the drugs that are on the streets, the bikies are largely responsible for. We need to make sure that we keep up the pressure on those bikies, and the Morrison Government is doing that by supporting the Australian Federal Police, giving them additional funding and supporting them to take this fight even further.
JOURNALIST: My understanding it was part of a $1.7 billion investment, is that correct? How much is actually for this specific –
KAREN ANDREWS: It’s part of a $170 million investment. We fund the Australian Federal Police to about $1.7 billion, we did last year. So we have committed to the resourcing over a long period of time, and this is a separate announcement.
JOURNALIST: Minister, just on another matter, how was a Home Affairs public servant who had previously been investigated for child sex offences given secret clearance to work for the government in Indonesia?
KAREN ANDREWS: Well, there’s a range of issues that need to be explored in relation to security clearances. I’m concerned by what I am seeing and hearing. I will take that up with my department.
JOURNALIST: And are you likely to launch an investigation into that?
KAREN ANDREWS: I’ll seek advice from my department in the first instance. And I’ll make my decisions based on that advice.
JOURNALIST: Can we hear from the assistant commissioner, if that’s all right.
NIGEL RYAN: Thank you, yes. Look, I think this announcement today really highlights the value in investing in the AFP not just in the legislation but also in the capabilities that we have to fight organised crime. We are definitely seen that we’ve been hit by South American cartels, organised crime groups in South East Asia, through Europe. So these investments are very, very important to keeping the Australian community safe. And this announcement and the capabilities that we have particularly in operationalizing our intelligence will be vitally important on the back of what we’ve seen in Operation Ironside.
JOURNALIST: I guess obviously there’s been a physical aspect with the borders closed. That’s obviously slowed things down a bit. But, I mean, online, it’s always been, you know, I guess it’s been that real tricky thing of being able to keep up with it. Do you feel like, I guess, in terms of resourcing and stuff, you’ve been able to keep up and, I guess, keep up with what’s going on?
NIGEL RYAN: Well, we’ve certainly shown through Operation Ironside our ability to take on large challenges and deal with them effectively. It has been well established. So we’ve definitely seen that there’s been a bit of a slowing up of communications more broadly because of what we’ve done in that area. And logistics are obviously difficult with Covid, but we’ve disrupted those networks to a significant point where we’ve made a disruptive effect that has seen, you know, the supply of drugs go down and the price of drugs go up, which is a very good indicator that we’ve been effective in that regard.
JOURNALIST: Assistant Commissioner, just on the circumstance with the public servant that we just spoke about a moment ago, I just wonder if the AFP has any concerns about the past handling of the case and also whether you’re going to investigate that as well?
NIGEL RYAN: That’s certainly not in my remit, that actual matter. So I’d pass back to the Minister in terms of how that might be dealt with.
JOURNALIST: Sure. I just have a couple more for the Minister. Minister, it’s been reported the Prime Minister told Liberal Party members not to back his rival in a preselection dispute in 2017 because of his Lebanese heritage. How damaging is this on the eve of an election?
KAREN ANDREWS: I have no knowledge of those particular circumstances. Yes, I’ve heard them and seen them reported. Michael Sukkar, as one of our Ministers, has been out and responded to that. What I can say about the Prime Minister is that in his dealings with me I have always found him to be very firm, very fair in those dealings. I have always found him very supportive. I have listened to him over the two years that Australia has faced the pandemic and he has had to make decisions that no other Prime Minister has ever had to make in recent times. So he has led this nation with confidence, with conviction and always has had Australians front and centre of his thoughts. I am very confident in the integrity of our Prime Minister. I work with him every single day and I have always found him to be firm but fair.
JOURNALIST: What do you think the motive is for the being raised now?
KAREN ANDREWS: Well, that’s up for the person who’s making allegations to substantiate in relation to their timing. I’m focused on serving the Australian people, as I know Prime Minister Morrison is as well. And we will be continuing to spend every hour of every day doing the best that we possibly can for the Australian people.
JOURNALIST: Your party colleague Senator Fierravanti-Wells raised similar allegations in the Senate. Why should the public dismiss these claims when she’s raised it in parliament and the people are willing to sign a statutory declaration on the issue?
KAREN ANDREWS: I’m standing here saying that Prime Minister Morrison has always treated me firmly and fairly and that he has led this government and the Australian people through very difficult times. Other people will choose to comment from time to time. Their timing is a matter for them. I support the Prime Minister. I think that the Coalition Government has worked hard throughout the pandemic in the best interests of the Australian people. And clearly, an election will be called very soon and it will be up to the Australian people to judge our performance. But we are well placed now. Our Budget has been very well received. It sets us up with some immediate support for people with their cost of living expenses, which we know are high at the moment. So we’ve supported them, but we’ve also set out a very good and strong long-term vision for Australia.
JOURNALIST: Just on the war in Ukraine, Minister, have you seen the vision of what’s happened in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, and do you think this amounts to war crimes?
KAREN ANDREWS: Well, war crimes and discussions in relation to that are something that – from the Australian point of view – the Prime Minister and Minister Dutton, as our Defence Minister, will comment specifically on. But I, along with many Australians, have been absolutely appalled at the actions that Russia has taken in Ukraine. We were honoured and privileged to have President Zelenskyy speak to the Australian Parliament, and through the Australian Parliament to the Australian people last week. All Australians – I’m very confident – are supportive of Ukraine. The work that they are doing in that country now to stand and fight for their nation has really left Australians and the rest of the world in awe. Time will tell as to what the outcomes of this terrible set of circumstances are, but Australia’s support is to Ukraine.
JOURNALIST: Just one more, if I may: why did the government withdraw its character test legislation from the Senate after years of claiming it was a priority and did you botch the negotiations?
KAREN ANDREWS: We will always take matters of character for visa cancellations particularly importantly. The worst of the worst probably come to me in terms of character cancellations or cancellation of visas. Minister Hawke as the Immigration Minister also deals with these cancellations. That is always important to us. We will always look to the best interests of Australia and Australians. Look, interestingly, the Opposition has tried to make itself a very small target. It’s trying to pretend that it’s like the Coalition and we know, in fact, that’s not what it’s behaviour has been. For years they have not been able to come to a position in relation to border security. The Leader of the Opposition has made it very clear that he could not turn back a boat. They are not like the Coalition in relation to border security, and that has been demonstrated time and time again. So the people of Australia should be very careful and listen to what the Opposition is actually saying, what Labor is saying, because they’re saying one thing at the moment but you look at their past history and the words that they are saying now does not equate with what they’ve said in the past. And they can’t be trusted.
JOURNALIST: Minister, just one more from me on the public servant, if you don’t mind: has their security clearance now been withdrawn?
KAREN ANDREWS: I’ll need to seek advice from my department in relation to that.
JOURNALIST: And can I just ask you locally about Mayor Tom Tate’s spiritual adviser? Do you think it’s appropriate for that in politics?
KAREN ANDREWS: I have no comments in relation to any of that.
JOURNALIST: Thank you.