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Editors --- "In Brief" [2004] MarStudies 14; (2004) 136 Maritime Studies 34

• IN BRIEF
• New Measures Reinforce Maritime Security
• Background

IN BRIEF

New Measures Reinforce Maritime Security

The high priority the Australian Government gives to a secure Australian maritime industry has been reinforced with the announcement by the government on 20 July 2004 of a $102 million package of new security measures.

The package represents the Australian Government's responsiveness to ongoing industry-government analysis of security needs in this country, said the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services, John Anderson, who made the announcement at the Port of Brisbane with the Prime Minister, John Howard, and the Minister for Justice and Customs, Chris Ellison.

‘This latest investment in maritime security is the culmination of a thorough review of maritime security arrangements by the Secretaries’ Committee on National Security, which was recently considered by the National Security Committee of Cabinet,’ Mr Anderson said.

‘The maritime industry has worked very well to get us to the secure maritime environment we have achieved so far. This package of measures boosts the country’s responsiveness to a potential terrorist attack and sets us up well should there ever be a need to respond to a higher level of threat.

‘The $4.4 million to extend the business hours of my Department’s Transport Security Operations Centre to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, will mean efficient and timely security decisions, information dissemination and security inspections where necessary.

‘The Maritime Security Industry Code will bring a common approach to transport security for access to Australia's important transport infrastructure.’

Mr Anderson said that it was an effective industry-government partnership that had brought us to this point, as well as a productive whole-of-government approach across Australian Government agencies and the states and territories.

Background

In November 2001, the Australian Government began working closely with the international community and the International Maritime Organization to contribute to the development and implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, which came into effect globally on 1 July 2004.

The ISPS Code is a comprehensive set of preventive security measures to enhance maritime security, developed in response to the perceived threats to ships and port facilities globally.

As Australia has just over 12 per cent of the world's shipping task and with the value of Australia’s sea-borne trade being about $188 billion per annum, any disruption and destabilisation of sea-borne trade would have serious economic consequences.

To help safeguard Australia’s domestic and international sea trade, our maritime assets and our citizens, and to ensure Australia’s compliance with the provisions of the Code, the Australian Government, through the Office of Transport Security, moved quickly to work with the maritime industry, the unions, and state and territory governments to establish a nationally consistent preventive security framework.

This framework has been implemented through the Maritime Transport Security Act 2003, which provided the legislative basis for the implementation of the ISPS Code into Australia. On 1 July 2004 the enforcement provisions of the Maritime Transport Security Act 2003 also came into operation, and Australia's maritime transport industry became security regulated.

Extensive industry consultations around Australia resulted in the development of a range of guidance materials enabling industry to undertake security risk assessments and develop maritime and ship security plans. Some 400 Maritime Industry Participants including port operators, port facility operators, some port service providers, and ship operators are covered by security plans.

Australia achieved 100 per cent compliance with the international deadline with all plans submitted by maritime industry participants being assessed and approved by the 1 July 2004 deadline.

Courtesy DOTARS Fact Sheet