Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Like all Australians, I am deeply concerned at the reports of Australian citizens who are working on behalf of extremist groups in the Middle East and in particular in Syria and Iraq, including such terrorist groups as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL, and the Al-Nusrah Front. According to these reports, as many as 150 Australian citizens are involved, both here and abroad. Some are involved in the financing of terror, others are involved in the radicalisation of others, and some of these people are involved directly in training, fighting and committing acts of terror overseas. Recently, we saw chilling footage of convicted Australian terrorist Khaled Sharrouf posing in northern Iraq, gun in hand, over the bodies of several executed men. There is no question that Australian citizens who engage in extremist activity pose a threat to our national security—in particular, those citizens who have acquired new-found skills in terror and who seek to bring those skills back home.

Australia currently has in place a suite of measures to deal with people who are engaged in extremist activity. For instance, it is illegal for Australian citizens to go overseas to fight with, or support, terrorist groups. Significant criminal penalties apply, both under the Criminal Code and under the Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act, with a maximum penalty of up to 25 years of imprisonment. In addition, under the Australian Passports Act, the Minister for Foreign Affairs can cancel or refuse to issue a passport where an individual is suspected to be a threat to the security of Australia. The foreign affairs minister has spoken in the parliament to confirm she has indeed cancelled a substantial number of Australian passports on security grounds and that she will continue to do so.

Moreover, Australia intelligence agencies are working closely with partners in the Middle East, South-East Asia, Europe and the US to monitor extremist activity and to track those, including Australians, who are travelling to places like Syria and Iraq. We saw a recent example of this over the weekend with the arrest in the Philippines of a jihad-preaching radical Australian Islamic cleric, Musa Cerantonio, who may be extradited to Australia to face charges over his links to the terrorist groups Abu Sayyaf and ISIL. As is proper, the government constantly reviews our antiterrorism laws and arrangements and has announced that it will shortly introduce new legislation that will give our security agencies greater powers to counter the terrorism threat.

Finally, at an international level, Australia is also playing its part, taking a leadership role as Chair of the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee within the UN Security Council. This month, we assume the presidency of the global financial action task force which promotes legal, regulatory and operational measures to counter terrorism financing across the globe.

In Australia, citizenship is a great privilege. Those who are citizens of our great nation are called on to uphold and protect those values that have shaped who we are as a nation and will continue to secure our future. Under the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 there are five ways in which you can cease to be an Australian citizen. Under section 35 of the citizenship act, an Australian who serves in the armed forces of a country at war with Australia is able to have their citizenship revoked. It is my view that jihadists who go to fight in Iraq and Syria should be stripped of their Australian citizenship in a similar way. These people make a choice. They choose terror over peace and they are responsible for their own decisions.

Australians should be able to live in peace and security without the threat of terror. Threats to our security should be taken very seriously and we have a responsibility as a government to explore all the avenues to protect that very security. I commend the motion to the House and commend the member for Cowan for bringing this matter to the attention of the House.

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