REVEALED: Asylum seeker boat patrols were slashed to save money on FUEL
- The Australian Border Force did cut back on patrols to save costs on fuel
- It was first reported in December of 2018 but denied by Home Affairs Minister
- However ABF commissioner later revealed a cut back on patrols in December
The Australian Border Force (ABF) limited the number of asylum seeker patrols to save money on fuel, it has been revealed.
In December, the ABF was looking at ways to reduce costs and planned ‘operational limitations’ including an end to ships ‘patrolling to achieve this active fuel saving’.
At the time Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton refused these claims, reported by The Sydney Morning Herald after an email was leaked.
Mr Dutton told the publication there would not be any reduced presence of patrols in the water.
While Australian Border Force commissioner Michael Outram told Sentate that the media reports were not accurate.
The Australian Border Force has been found to have limited its patrols for asylum seeker boats to save money on fuel it has been revealed
It was reported in December that the ABF was in the midst of a budget blowout and was looking at ways to reduce costs, including cutting back on routine patrols
‘That … was a proposal that was not implemented … we didn’t make a change,’ Mr Outram said when being questioned by Labor senator Kimberley Kitching.
However Mr Outram later corrected his original comments and said that between December 3 and December 11 of last year the ABF did indeed employ a ‘more risk-based approach’ where patrol activities were ‘cued through intelligence, radar sighting or visual sighting’.
Instead of conducting routine patrols boats were left to wait for any suspicious activity on their radars or through tip offs from other vessels in order to preserve fuel.
The timing of the risk-based approach only lasted until The Sydney Morning Herald reported on the budget blowout in December 11 of 2018.
Labor’s immigration and border protection spokesman Shayne Neumann told the publication he believes the admission from the ABF was a sign that government was willing to put Australia’s border at risk to save money.
‘If the Morrison government hadn’t been caught out, how far would have Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton been willing to go?’ he said.
These claims were originally shot down by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton at the time and were backed by similar claims from Australian Border Force commissioner Michael Outram
Mr Outram later recanted his original comments and said that between December 3 and December 11 of last year the ABF did indeed employ a ‘more risk-based approach’ where patrol activities were ‘cued through intelligence, radar sighting or visual sighting’
Labor’s immigration and border protection spokesman Shayne Neumann told the publication he believes the admission from the ABF was a sign that government was willing to put Australia’s border at risk to save money