Our government has always known that COVID-19 is not the only challenge to national security and safety. As Home Affairs Minister, my focus remains on ensuring our law enforcement and national security agencies have the resources and legislative power they need to protect our community and our way of life.
Last week, we passed new laws to give police greater powers to tackle insidious criminal activity taking place on the dark web, including child sexual exploitation.
We also improved foreign intelligence capability to make sure our agencies are better able to detect and determine any imminent threats, which is especially important in the fight on terrorism. We can't be complacent and need to remain vigilant to evolving threats in an ever-changing world.
Another key focus has been on evacuating Australian citizens, permanent residents and visa holders from Afghanistan. A total of 4,100 people have been evacuated - 1,000 of those have already made their way to Australia.
Seeing the distressing images from Kabul has been hard for every one of us, particularly our veterans who served in Afghanistan over the past 20 years. I encourage you to reach out to those you know and make them aware that support is available.
One of our local Gold Coast veterans will compete at the Paralympics in Tokyo this week. Curtis McGrath's incredible story is one of extreme resilience and determination. He lost both legs after stepping on an IED in 2012 and has gone on to win several paracanoe gold medals at the world championships and at the Rio Olympics.
He joins fellow paracanoe world champion AJ Jennings and swimmer Thomas Gallagher in representing the southern Gold Coast in Tokyo.
I know our Olympic and Paralympic athletes have inspired us and the games have been a welcome distraction for those experiencing lockdown.
The rapidly rising COVID vaccination rates are a positive sign that we will soon see an easing of restrictions - as we move to Phase B of our National Plan - and eventually Phase C and D, which includes the reopening of international borders.
We now have more than 19 million Australians vaccinated with at least their first shot. I thank each and every one of you who have rolled up your sleeves - whether that be to protect yourself, your loved ones, or the greater community.
It's vital that this trend continues so restrictions can be eased. Our Gold Coast-Tweed border community is currently suffering greatly as thousands are prohibited from conducting their normal lives.
The Queensland Premier has not only shut the border to NSW, but is also not allowing Queenslanders to return home. I said it last year and will continue to say - this is about managing the risk and learning to live with COVID.
We currently have the absurd double standards of allowing the partners of professional sports people to enter the state, but people with life-threatening medical conditions can't drive 10 minutes to access specialist treatment.
The Premier needs to find solutions which allow people in the border region to go about their business in a safe and sensible manner. As I told ABC Gold Coast last week there is no reason why a "border bubble" cannot be re-established.
Take care,
