Australia-United Kingdom Ministerial Consultations 2005

[Jamie]

Emma nodded "Good" she responded in relation to the lack of reports of the Suez before turning her attention onto Counter-Terrorism and Law Enforcement "It's good to know Australia and New Zealand continue to work together on such matters, as you know, Terrorism is a global problem. It's not one likely to ever go away but through cooperation, we can hopefully prevent it before it happens. I'd like to see collaboration in this arena through real data intelligence sharing which could potentially be extended to shared watchlists for known or suspected terrorists. This could also push into joint military cooperation in terms of special forces and most importantly, learning from previous incidents.

If, of course, that's of interest, then maybe it can be pursued initially through a form of intelligence agreement. Specifically surrounding the sharing of information on known and suspected terrorists and groups that can be extended into sharing anecdotes from our experiences to help prepare for what's next." Owen

 

[Owen]

"We're definitely open to cooperating with the United Kingdom in terms of law enforcement and terrorism and sharing intelligence in that arena. Our internal security structures are based off a lot of what we've learnt from the United Kingdom, including the creation of the Department of Home Affairs based on your Home Office, amalgamating elements from the Attorney-General's Department and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Transforming the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service into the Australian Border Force. ASIO based heavily on MI5. We're very open to expanding our collaboration in this space."

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"That's great to hear, I don't currently have a draft of what this could entail but I can have one written and sent to you in an appropriate time frame to review. This could include designating secure communication channels, identifying the type of intelligence that ought to be shared and promoting regular consultation to name a few examples. From there, we can work together from there as to any amendments, if that's acceptable?" she asked, serving as an invitation to raise any other specific points on the topic. Owen

 

[Owen]

"Yes that will be perfectly fine." Kevin would be mindful of the amount of time that has now passed with this current AUKMIN and would be eager to keep moving on the agenda.

"Shall we move onto bilateral migration and visa policies?

I'll start off by saying that we allow British citizen passport holders to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority into Australia and then have unlimited stays for 90 days at a time within a 12 month period. It is a form of tourist visa. Australia has a universal visa policy, but has a special category of visa for New Zealanders which they are granted upon arrival and is indefinite. But every non-citizen needs some type of visa to be in Australia."

Jamie