Turnbull Government ‘considering new Department of Homeland Security’

AUSTRALIA might be getting its own Department of Homeland Security as part of a major federal agency shake-up.

A Federal cabinet minister has refused to speculate on whether Malcolm Turnbull is considering creating a US-style Department of Homeland Security. Picture: AAP

A FEDERAL cabinet minister has refused to speculate on whether Malcolm Turnbull is considering creating a US-style Department of Homeland Security.

There is a proposal to merge at least half a dozen relevant federal agencies from two departments into a mega-department, Fairfax Media reported on Tuesday.

Asked to detail the plans, Josh Frydenberg told ABC TV: “We’re always looking to improve our level of co-ordination between agencies and between levels of government, but this report is speculation and I’m not going to comment”.

It’s understood Immigration Minister Peter Dutton would become the putative minister for homeland security. Picture: Craig Wilson

MORE: PM Turnbull plans counter-terrorism ‘super portfolio’

MORE: Turnbull puts terrorists on notice

The report claimed the aim of the plan was be to improve co-ordination across the government in preventing terrorist attacks.

According to Fairfax, the enlarged department would be built on the existing Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the putative minister for homeland security would be the current Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton.

Originally published as Turnbull Government ‘considering new Department of Homeland Security’