Newsroom
Border control, Biosecurity in Tatters
February 6, 2026
Despite 1.3 billion dollars of Australian’s taxes being spent on so-called border control Torres Strait locals have contacted me, and local media are reporting fishermen from Indonesia casually coming ashore and ordering a beer after brazenly illegally fishing in our waters.
What sort of show are we running in this country?
Thank goodness these fellas were ‘just fishermen’.
Here in Queensland our state Government has a tagline ‘Open for Business’, and that couldn’t be truer in the case of Queensland’s Roko Island in the Torres Strait where the fishermen landed – but the wrong sort of ‘open’!
What sort of a message does this send to the great and developing powers across the globe? Australian territories are wide open, and when you get here, we’ll even pour you a beer!
Every Australian should rightfully be concerned that with all the tough talk of our government, their agencies, and our Defence Force, our borders are Swiss cheese at best.
Australia’s early colonial history and modern settlement in the north was one based primarily on defence. The priority of populating the north of our island continent wasn’t to develop the north’s potential (which we still barely scrape the surface today) but to develop settlements to serve as outposts for defence against the French and Dutch.
More than 200 years after the establishment of Fort Dundas on Melville Island, and 150 years after the establishment of defence installations on Thursday Island, it seems we are right back in the 18th Century with our capability. I dare say the early colonists with their telescopes and knowledge of sea traffic might even be a better option than what we see today.
Our agriculture industry has been rightfully vocal about the importance of strong biosecurity to protect our industries from diseases like foot and mouth and lumpy skin which would smash our exports overnight.
Our lacklustre border management puts more than 11 billion dollars of beef exports at risk alone.
We trade on a clean green, bio-secure platform, with stringent controls in place to ensure the quality of the product we sell the world. But if any Joe (or Ahmad) can wonder into Australia, that is brought into serious question.
Our national security, both physical and biological is now at situation critical.
We need real border security, not a late to the party escort service, that as I’ve been told, provided illegal fisherman with fuel and a tow. We need a fully resourced, proactive force that repels, not welcomes.
We need to be able to sleep again at night.
Robbie Katter is the leader of the Katter’s Australian Party, and Queensland State Member for Traeger