Um, Pardon Me?!
$17 million dollars?! fitness centre?! MACHINE GUNS?!?
For crying out loud. Get a load of this:
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Govt wants private boat to patrol northern waters
ABC Online News
Tuesday, August 1, 2006. 6:44pm (AEST)
The Federal Government has has decided to hire a private patrol boat to search for illegal fishing boats in Australia's northern waters.
The Government says the boat will act as a mother ship, detaining suspected illegal fishermen.
It is advertising a $17 million contract for a private boat that will be fitted with machine guns and used to patrol the waters off the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
The Government wants a boat and a civilian crew, who will be accompanied by up to 30 customs and defence personnel and be able to take to the water in January next year.
The Government says the boat has to also be able to hold up to 30 suspected illegal fishermen, and be fast enough to chase and catch foreign boats, even into international waters.
The tender says it would be desirable if the patrol boat had a fitness centre for 30 people.
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Why don't they spend this amount of money on getting rid of the tens of thousands (yes, that's right, tens of thousands) of Brits, Americans and Europeans who overstay their visas each year?! OR (call me crazy) on schools, hospitals, aged care, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and alleviating debt in the developing world.
geez i must be an irrational hippy. that's some crazy talk, isn't it? haha! hospitals! aged care! alleviating debt! oh stop, you're killing me.
hmm.
posted by Jessie at 10:02 AM
4 Comments:
mmm, yeah, it's a lot of money and it could be used for other things - and I know that the boats that patrol for illegal fishing boats also patrol for other boats. But the issues are also kinda separate - I 100% support our efforts to keep illegal fishing boats out. Over fishing is an ecological disaster and not enough people know about it because it's not particularly visible. I don't want illegal Indonesian and Japanese fishing vessels overfishing our waters any more than I want people coming in and decimating the koala population for pelts.
10:44 AM
i can't disagree with you about fishing boats, but also can't help feeling a bit cynical. doesn't this just make your skin crawl, when you remember that Canberra has recently acknowledged that Operation Relex is still in full swing, and in the context of the Migration Amendment Bill...? Excuse me for not having complete faith in what the government says this super-dynamo turbo-charged fitness-centre machine-gun boat will be used for...
Although i guess it would go some of the way to explaining the new Christmas Island facility...
10:50 AM
Of course I'm cynical, but I'd be curious to see the full terms of the tender, and whether the boat would also be responsible for picking up "illegal immigrants" as well as illegal fisherman (note inverted commas!)
If it's only for the latter, then I say go for it - aside from the machine guns, of course. What on earth do they need those for?!
3:52 PM
This may answer your question...
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Illegals to be held on Customs prison hulk
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The Australian
Simon Kearney
August 03, 2006
ILLEGAL fishermen and asylum-seekers intercepted in Australian waters will be held at sea on an armed, purpose-built prison ship for up to a month at a time under tough new border-security provisions.
Concerned that its patrol vessels, particularly in northern waters, must make long voyages returning to port after intercepting each illegal boat, the Australian Customs Service has advertised for tenders to lease a civilian vessel to act as a floating detention centre for extended periods of time. The ship, which will be leased at a cost of $10million a year, will need to be converted at an additional cost to hold up to 30 detainees.
The vessel will also be fitted with large 12.7mm deck-mounted machineguns and small inflatable dinghies, which will be used to board and seize illegal vessels.
According to tender documents obtained by The Australian, the ship will have a 30-berth detention centre, quarantine zone, isolation area and exercise deck, separated from other areas of the ship.
The documents state that the ship must be able to cater for a full crew, 30 government officials and 30 detainees "for a minimum of 30 days".
While primarily designed to combat illegal fishing, the vessel could also be required to intercept people-smuggling.
"Customs is strengthening its enforcement activities against illegal foreign fishing vessels," the tender documents state.
"As a result, Customs requires a civilian charter vessel and full crew to patrol, predominantly, Australia's northern waters. The vessel will need to be capable of being modified to fit and operate locally controlled (manually operated) deck-mounted weapons, such as 12.7mm machineguns.
"These weapons must be able to be mounted in such a position as to afford the maximum possible arcs of fire from either side of the vessel.
"The vessel must have a capacity to hold up to 30 apprehended illegal foreign fishers on board, in a secure area, under the control of armed Australian government officials."
Up to 30 officials will be carried aboard the vessel and the tender requires a variety of berths from private cabins to six-bed berths, but all with en suite bathrooms.
Under desirable requirements, the tender lists a fitness area "with gym equipment to cater for up to 30 embarked personnel".
Customs wants the vessel to have separate meeting, briefing and interview facilities for the exclusive use of government officials, as well as a two-bed medical bay and an operating theatre.
"The new vessel will provide significant additional support to Customs and navy patrol boats already engaged in responding to and apprehending illegal vessels," Customs Minister Chris Ellison said.
"It will have the capability to remain at sea for extended periods and operate independently in all waters around Australia."
The ship will cost taxpayers up to $10 million to lease for 12 months from January 1 next year, with operating costs and the refit to add to the bill.
Opposition Customs spokesman Joe Ludwig said the prison ship was a patchwork approach to border protection.
"Those in the fishing industry tell me that only a fully fledged Coastguard will do the job," he said. "A major concern is the presence of civilian crew in an operational environment where weapons like firearms could reasonably be expected to be used.
"We want to know whether there will be an Australian crew who will be given access to special training for law enforcement, weapons (and) protective gear."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20001510-601,00.html
3:57 PM
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