By Sean Healy
Federal Labor leader Kim Beazley has announced that his party will establish a new coastguard to "protect Australia's borders" when it is elected to government.
Beazley said the initiative, announced on January 23, was motivated by the increasing number of refugees seeking to enter Australia illegally. A new coastguard service would be better able to detect and prevent the entry of such people than the present service run by customs and the navy, he claimed.
Beazley's coastguard would also be responsible for barring drug smugglers, enforcing quarantine and customs regulations, and during war-time would function as a fourth arm of the military.
Beazley's proposal is modelled on the work of the United States Coastguard. However, the US Coastguard has been criticised for its close involvement in US immigration and foreign policy. In 1994, the US Coastguard turned back most of the 35,000 Haitian refugees fleeing the US-backed military regime there. Since then, it has often protected attempts by Miami-based Cuban counter-revolutionary groups to enter Cuban waters.
The Coalition government has opposed the proposal, claiming that it would be costly and pointing out that Beazley, when he was defence minister, had rejected such a proposal in 1984. A spokesperson for Beazley said the situation has entirely changed since then, citing the increased need to "protect" Australia from people seeking to enter the country illegally.
The Australian Defence Association, a lobby group which has consistently demanded greater resources for Australia's military machine, welcomed Beazley's plan.