Good evening, Senators. Thank you Chair for the opportunity to provide an opening statement.
The protection of Australia's maritime borders remains fundamental to our national sovereignty, our security, and the confidence of the Australian community. I would like to acknowledge the Australian Border Force and Australian Defence Force officers, and all supporting agencies, who work together under Maritime Border Command and Operation Sovereign Borders to safeguard Australia's maritime domain. Their professionalism, discipline, and commitment underpin the enduring success of this mission.
Australia continues to face a persistent maritime people‑smuggling threat. While the scale and profile of this threat has changed significantly from the commencement of Operation Sovereign Borders. It remains real and adaptive. Criminal people smugglers continue to exploit vulnerable individuals by promoting false narratives about work opportunities and settlement outcomes in Australia, driven solely by profit and with little regard for human life. These networks deliberately seek to avoid surveillance and detection, increasingly favouring smaller, faster, and more clandestine ventures rather than the large‑scale movements seen more than a decade ago.
Operation Sovereign Borders maintains a clear focus on disrupting these criminal networks before they can put lives at risk at sea. Our approach is intelligence‑led and prevention‑focused, integrating offshore engagement, surveillance, disruption activity, and returns arrangements. Intelligence enables us to identify emerging facilitators, adapt to evolving smuggling methodologies, and apply pressure at multiple points along the irregular migrant pathway.
International and community engagement remains critical. Cooperation with regional partners, foreign law enforcement agencies, and diaspora communities helps counter misinformation, reduce exploitation, and reinforce clear and consistent messaging. Australia's policy is unequivocal: people who attempt to arrive by boat without a visa will not be settled in Australia. This clarity remains central to deterrence.
Across Australia, at sea and in the air, 1,142 Australian Border Force and Australian Defence Force officers continue to provide the operational backbone of maritime border protection. Through sustained patrols, surveillance, and response activity, they protect Australia's northern approaches, uphold our laws, and ensure maritime threats are detected and managed safely and lawfully. Their work is demanding and often unseen, but it is essential to keeping Australians safe.
Safety, operational security, and compliance with Australia's domestic and international legal obligations remain my highest priorities. The protection of sensitive operational information is critical. Public discussion of capabilities, tactics, or responses risks enabling criminal smugglers to adapt their methods and place lives at further risk. For that reason, I will not comment on operational specifics.
I will conclude by again acknowledging the officers and officials who continue to deliver this mission. Their expertise, resolve, and professionalism ensure Australia's maritime borders remain secure, and that criminal people smugglers are denied the opportunity to profit from human vulnerability.
Thank you Chair, and I welcome the Committee's questions.
