The Ministers said the radar trial delivered on the Government’s 2001 border protection election commitment.

The Ministers said the Indigenous Land Use Agreements would permit the Australian Government to set up a trial of high-frequency surface wave radar, via transmitter and receiver sites on two Torres Strait islands.

This trial shows that the Australian Government is committed to using the latest technology to protect our borders from drugs, disease, illegal immigration and fishing and other threats.

The radar’s two-to-three year trial begins in August. During this time it will provide 24-hour, wide-area surveillance of aircraft, ships and boats travelling in the Torres Strait. The $19 million initiative is jointly funded by Customs and Defence and demonstrates yet again the close working relationship of these agencies in the protection of Australia’s borders.

It will also increase the capacity of Defence and Coastwatch to detect and intercept immigration, quarantine and fisheries offenders; assist with search and rescue operations; and provide early storm warnings.

The 440 metre long receiver array will be situated on Dauan Island, in the northen Torres Strait, while the transmitter will be sited on the uninhabited Koey Ngurtai ("Pumpkin") island, that is administered by nearby Badu Island, in the middle of Torres Strait. The Torres Strait is a highly strategic area and the radar trial in this region will provide an excellent basis for assessment of this technology.

Traditional ceremonies held at Badu and Dauan, and attended by the Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch, marked the signing of the Indigenous Land Use Agreements.

The voluntary nature of the agreements paves the way for the future management of maritime and land environments in this region. The agreements will provide the local communities with employment opportunities in site preparation, infrastructure development, and as equipment caretakers undertaking routine inspections and minor maintenance. In addition, the Badu traditional owners have consented to the construction of a community building to accommodate a native title office and purchase of a boat for use by both the Badu Island Community and the contractors while working on Pumpkin Island.

The agreements also highlighted the success of the Howard Government’s Indigenous Land Use Agreement provisions introduced into the Native Title Act in 1998.

High Frequency Surface Wave Radar will be jointly trialled by Customs/Coastwatch and Defence to augment Australia’s surveillance capability in the littoral waters of northern Australia. The trial will be conducted over a two-to-three year period, with site leases being arranged for up to 10 years to allow for site preparation, post-trial rehabilitation, contingencies (such as weather damage interrupting the trial) or the possibility of an extended deployment period, should the trial prove this to be warranted.

The project involves acquisition, deployment and operation of a High Frequency (HF) Surface Wave Radar (SWR) for joint evaluation purposes by Customs/Coastwatch and Defence. The trial is to test the performance of SWR as a surveillance asset as well as the value of its data in the layered National surveillance system.

Funding is jointly provided by Customs/Coastwatch ($12 million) and Defence ($7 million). Coastwatch had the primary responsibility for determining the location of the trial, while Defence is providing the majority of the project management.

Torres Strait is the Customs/Coastwatch preferred location for the trial. This site was chosen as it is a major concentration point for small surface vessel traffic and experiences numerous aircraft flights, providing good data quantities for the radar evaluation.

Daronmont Technologies and the DMO signed a three-year $15 million contract in February 2003 for the provision, operation and support of a HFSWR. Daronmont is a wholly Australian owned small/medium enterprise that specialises in design, engineering, integration and support of complex high technology electronics and software-intensive systems, with facilities in Technology Park (SA), Williamtown (NSW) and Burwood (Vic). The radar system being acquired is known by Daronmont as "SECAR" (Surface Wave Extended Coastal Area Radar).

Surface Wave Radar (SWR) has its origins in research into High Frequency radar technology by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO). SWR uses over-the-horizon propagation characteristics of short-wave radio signals travelling over seawater. SWR shows potential to complement the JORN sky-wave system by offering enhanced detection ability against small surface contacts at closer ranges.

Short-term parallel deployments to the Torres Strait of a HFSWR Concept Technology Demonstrator (CTD) from DSTO, known as ILUKA II, will allow for conduct of comparative analyses of experimental and commercial HFSWR systems and support ongoing research into evolving HFSWR technology.

Surface Wave Radar offers the potential to detect marine vessels and aircraft at extended ranges over the horizon, providing continuous surveillance over wide areas. The trial is anticipated to demonstrate that it could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Coastwatch and Defence response and intercept assets in our northern waters, if operational SWRs were to be deployed in areas of major interest.

The project will help assess the potential of SWR as part of a layered sensor mix whose purpose is to detect illegal incursions into Australia’s economic enforcement zone, territorial waters and/or territory. It will also provide data on air and surface contacts likely to be encountered during military operations to defend Australia.