Good Afternoon Chair and Committee members, and thank you for the opportunity to provide an opening statement.
On 10 January 2024, I was sworn in as Commander Joint Agency Task Force Operation Sovereign Borders and Commander Maritime Border Command, taking over from RADM Justin Jones—and I thank him for his service. I am honoured to continue this vitally important work to protect the sovereignty of Australia's maritime borders.
Over the past two years Joint Agency Task Force Operation Sovereign Borders faced a range of maritime border security challenges, including eleven maritime people smuggling ventures targeting Australia, all of which were successfully and promptly resolved under Operation Sovereign Borders.
This is a clear reminder that criminal people smugglers continue to sell false hope. Irregular maritime pathways to settlement in Australia remain closed. This will not change under my watch.
The continued success of the Operation would not be possible without the Australian Defence Force and Australian Border Force personnel working across Australia's sea, land and air domains in support of our maritime border security mission.
There are currently 1,055 personnel assigned to Operation Sovereign Borders and Maritime Border Command, including 646 sea going crew, and 409 in Canberra and across the regions. These personnel are dedicated to protecting the integrity of Australia's borders, and while the work they do is not often visible, it is always underway: 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
People smugglers continue to exploit and misrepresent real or perceived changes to Australia's migration settings as part of their marketing narratives to convince potential irregular immigrants that now is the time to travel to Australia irregularly by boat. This deceptive narrative is false. Operation Sovereign Borders remains in place, and anyone who attempts to migrate to Australia irregularly by boat will not settle here.
A key pillar of the Operation Sovereign Borders model is to deter people from joining maritime people smuggling ventures before they embark, and to ensure people considering irregular migration pathways are aware of the dangers and risks of undertaking these journeys.
We do this through the 'Zero Chance' campaign, which has reached more than 293 million people to date. Of course, criminal people smugglers are not the only threat to the integrity of Australia's territorial waters.
Last year, Maritime Border Command and the Australian Border Force surged to uplift enforcement and surveillance activity in response to increased illegal foreign fishing in Australia's maritime domain. This action has delivered effective disruption outcomes while ensuring that these fishing incursions do not impact our capacity to detect and intercept maritime people smuggling vessels.
During my tenure as Commander Operation Sovereign Borders and Commander Maritime Border Command, we will continue to preserve Australia's maritime security, and seek to ensure safety of life at sea through maximised collaboration across government, strong international engagement and maintaining our formidable border response capabilities.
I thank the Committee for its time and welcome any questions.
