SENATOR KRISTINA KENEALLY

DEPUTY LABOR LEADER IN THE SENATE

SHADOW MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS

SHADOW MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP

SENATOR FOR NEW SOUTH WALES 

NSW SPECIAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO THE RUBY PRINCESS REPORT

On 15 March, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Australians he was putting in place “bespoke arrangements” for arriving cruise ships and he promised cruise ships would be “directly under the command of the Australian Border Force”.

What “bespoke arrangements” did Scott Morrison put in place for arriving cruise ships? This report shows there were none.

If the Ruby Princess was “directly under the command of the Australian Border Force”, then why didn’t the ABF stop passengers disembarking the Ruby Princess on 19 March?

What this proves is that when Scott Morrison said “directly under the command of the Australian Border Force” he lied and that the ABF was left powerless by the Prime Minister.

Federal officials – including ABF and Department of Agriculture officials – were on board the Ruby Princess on 19 March. Why didn’t the Prime Minister give them powers to stop passengers disembarking?

Let’s not forget, Scott Morrison promised “full cooperation” but then blocked Federal officials from giving evidence to this inquiry or being questioned by the Commissioner Bret Walker and threatened to take the Commission to the High Court.

The report makes clear that Federal officials made mistakes the morning of 19 March and that the Human Biosecurity arrangements at our borders are a mess. 

Scott Morrison has a trophy congratulating himself for stopping the boats but he still didn’t stop the one boat that mattered – the Ruby Princess.

It’s clear the Prime Minister made a big announcement on 15 March to get a headline but failed to give the Australian Border Force the powers they needed to stop the one boat that mattered, the Ruby Princess, on 19 March.