Monday, 13 October 2014
Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon Scott Morrison officially launched the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service's (ACBPS) New South Wales Regional Command Headquarters in Sydney today.
'New South Wales Regional Command has the largest operational workload in the country, with approximately 14 million travellers passing through Sydney Airport every year and 35 million mail articles inspected each year,' Minister Morrison said.
'Australia is facing increasing and more complex border challenges. Ensuring the security and integrity of our borders is essential for the protection of the Australian community and economic prosperity.
'New South Wales Regional Command is part of the Service's recently launched Strategic Border Command model, launched on 3 July as a critical building block in the creation of the Australian Border Force.
'At the heart of these border protection announcements is stronger borders. Strategic Border Command ensures better monitoring of our borders 24-7 in real time, from a central headquarters in Canberra, while connecting to Regional Command centers to monitor live operations and deploy border resources as needed.
'The establishment of the Strategic Border Command is the one of the first steps in the creation of the Australian Border Force that was announced in this year's federal budget.
'The New South Wales Regional Command has been operating since late 2013, and was one of the first Commands to begin trials as part of new border protection arrangements.
'Today also marks Roman Quaedvlieg's commencement as ACBPS Chief Executive Officer.
'I welcome the commencement of Mr Quaedvlieg's tenure. Mr Quadevlieg has had a significant career in law enforcement and joined Customs and Border Protection in May 2013 as its Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Border Enforcement.
'Mr Quaedvlieg will continue to be a vital asset to Customs and Border Protection. I look forward to working with him as new border arrangements continue to come into effect,' Minister Morrison said.
URL:http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/sm/2014/sm218511.htm
Last update: Monday, 13 October 2014 at 16:54 AEST