Conclusion: Maritime border protection after the Tampa and 9/11

The objective of these proceedings has been to review current arrangements for national maritime border protection and to canvass some fresh approaches. The book (and preceding conference) have been designed to avoid getting bogged down in any great detail on sectoral issues, instead taking a more holistic view of the overall maritime border protection regime. The issue is timely in view of the public and political interest in developments regarding maritime security and border protection following the controversy surrounding the MV Tampa incident of August 2001 and the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. On 25 October 2001 the government released a major statement on border protection as part of its efforts to reassure voters that Australia's security was in the hands of "highly trained professionals within the ADF, the AFP and agencies such as Customs and AQIS." The extra $175.5 million promised was to be focused on the "crucial areas" of maritime surveillance, enhancing radar and communications capacity (including further High Frequency Surface Wave Radar tests) and detecting illegal material being smuggled into Australian ports.