CUSTOMS GETS HELP AT LAST

IT seems incredible that it took Throsby MP Colin Hollis three years to
finally convince the Federal Government that five Customs officers to
control illegal drugs and immigrants through the Port Kembla waterfront was
manifestly inadequate.

His persistence finally paid off earlier this week, when Customs Minister
Amanda Vanstone announced that nine surveillance cameras would be installed
at the port by next month to monitor illegal activities 24 hours a day.

There is no suggestion that the five Port Kembla Customs officers have not
been doing their best given the existing meagre resources at their disposal.

However, with only five officers to oversee millions of tonnes of shipping
in and out of the port every year, there can be no doubt that such a thin
enforcement barrier would not have gone unnoticed by the highly professional
international drug cartels targeting Australia.

The introduction of a fairly comprehensive camera surveillance system will
give Customs officers a major tool in their fight to stop illegal drugs and
immigrants through Port Kembla.

Their installation is long overdue.

But if the Government is serious about stemming the growing tide of illegal
drugs it must restore the Customs staffing levels at Port Kembla to those
existing when it took office more than three years ago.

And those officers must operate from frontline headquarters, not an office
in the city.