Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today on behalf of my constituents in the electorate of Petrie in support of the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2014. I want to associate myself with the remarks of the member for Fisher. I thought that was an excellent speech and that he hit the nail right on the head with what he had to say. I certainly agree with what the member for Fisher had to say.

It would be ignorant to doubt that Australia faces a serious and ongoing terrorist threat. This legislation seeks to address the urgent operational needs that have been identified by our intelligence, defence and law enforcement agencies. The terrorist situation in Iraq and Syria is only worsening. This has in turn posed serious security issues, even here on the other side of the world. We have seen the rise of ISIS in Iraq and Syria over the last few months, and it is appalling to see what has been happening there: people being murdered daily, women being raped regularly and people being shot through the back of the head. This is unacceptable. It is out of control.

In Australia, we sit back. We live in a great country with lots of freedom and a great democracy. But what is happening over there is unbelievable. It is relevant here because of who is involved with ISIS. We know that there are over 100 Australians that have been over there, fighting and training and involved with ISIS. We know, as the foreign minister has said, that about 25 per cent of those people were born overseas and have dual passports. The Australian government, where possible, is cancelling their Australian passports so those people cannot return to this country. But 75 per cent of those people were actually born here in Australia. They are Australians. The majority of them are young men under the age of 25 and they are training with ISIS in Iraq and Syria, witnessing these atrocities—murder, rape and crucifixion. If they do not convert to their so-called religion, people are murdered on the spot, including children. Let us not forget that: children from Christian families are being murdered there as well. For the 75 per cent who were born in Australia and are over in Iraq and Syria, we cannot cancel their passports. They are Australians; they were born here. So the bill addresses how to deal with these people when they return, because they are going to come back even more radicalised.

We saw what happened in Britain recently with the UK serviceman who last year was run down and decapitated. We saw what happened in Canada's parliament just a few weeks ago, with a radicalised lunatic over there murdering a guard. We saw a young man in Victoria, just a few weeks ago, attack and try to murder two police officers. This is why this is relevant here in Australia.

The federal government's primary responsibility, of course, is not just to build a strong, prosperous economy but to build a safe and secure Australia. We need to look after our people. As a first-term MP, I have spent much of this past year talking to people from many parts of my electorate, and many views are expressed to me daily. My inbox is constantly blitzed by lobby groups and those with a particular idea about what they believe would make Australia better. Many of those writing to me are concerned by the images they see in the daily newspapers or on the evening news broadcasts. They are concerned for their safety and for the safety of our community. This bill seeks to address some of those concerns.

This bill is part of the government's comprehensive response to the current situation we find ourselves in—in particular, the challenges we will have dealing with those Australians participating in and supporting foreign conflicts. Here in Australia, our intelligence agencies have identified issues. Our law enforcement agencies and defence personal need the legislative framework to be able to deal with the threats posed by those wanting to harm Australia and Australians' way of life. This legislation is not the result of any ideologically driven aims; it is simply the result of instances of operational needs identified by law enforcement agencies. The bill was subjected to review and scrutiny by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security in its 20 November 2014 report. I note that the government has accepted, or accepted in principle, all of the committee's recommendations.

I want to also acknowledge some of the comments in newspapers about these amendments. Firstly, the fact that we can debate issues should be celebrated. We live, as I said earlier, in a strong democracy where we have freedom. I assure those who have some concerns that this legislation gives excess powers to the ASIO and ASIS chiefs in respect of 'emergency authorisations' that I believe these concerns have been fully alleviated by the Attorney-General's second reading speech. However, this government takes its responsibility very seriously, and the powers contained in these amendments are vital to address the threat of terrorism. Our laws cannot be static. We live in a changing environment, but these amendments have been drafted with the appropriate checks and balances. We cannot be a reactive government, acting only after a serious act of terrorism occurs on our soil. We must be a proactive government—and we are. We are strengthening existing pieces of legislation that do not adequately address current domestic security threats.

As I noted, the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill has been introduced to address urgent operational needs identified by our intelligence, defence and law enforcement agencies. The amendments address three key areas: (1) enhancing the control order regime to allow the Australian Federal Police to seek control orders in relation to a broader range of individuals of security concern, and to streamline the application process (2) better facilitating the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, which supports and cooperates with the Australian Defence Force on military operations, and (3) making it easier for intelligence agencies to gain emergency ministerial authorisations to undertake activities in the performance of their statutory functions.

To look closely at enhancing the control order regime, the existing control order regime is already subject to significant safeguard and oversight mechanisms, including through the need to obtain both the Attorney-General's consent and a court order, which will continue to apply. But the current capacity of law enforcement agencies to protect the public from terrorist acts can and should be enhanced. This bill provides these enhancements to the control order regime through amendments to the Criminal Code. This includes expanding the ground upon which a senior AFP member can, with the Attorney-General's consent, request an interim control order to circumstances where the order would substantially assist in preventing support for or the facilitation of a terrorist act, or an individual's engagement in a hostile activity in a foreign country. In short, enhancements like this will enable our security forces to function faster and more effectively, which is fantastic news.

On facilitating the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, a key role of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service is to provide intelligence support to our Australian Defence Force, which is currently providing military support to Iraq in the fight against terrorist organisations. In using any intelligence provided by the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, the Australian Defence Force is bound by its rules of engagement.

I must say that the Australian Defence Force is doing a fantastic job. Earlier this year, I had the chance to travel to Afghanistan as part of the parliamentary military exchange program with three of my parliamentary colleagues.

It was fantastic to see the men and women in the Australian Defence Force, and experience their confidence and professionalism and the passion with which they carry out their work. They really are doing a wonderful job. We had the chance to sit in on some of the briefings for the rules of engagement in Afghanistan.

The government will continue to invest in the Australian Defence Force. Recently we have seen more of our budget committed to military hardware and equipment that is cutting edge, which the ADF need in order to carry out the work. This is in stark contrast to Labor, who cut $16 billion from the ADF in their six years of government.

These rules of engagement are developed in consultation with the Office of International Law in the Attorney-General's Department to ensure compliance with Australia's international law obligations. Without information like the intelligence that ASIS provides, the ADF is not only hindered, but also potentially put in danger. There is no point in having a defence force if the defence force is not in the best position to defend its nation and its personnel. By allowing ASIS to better support and cooperate with the ADF, we can ensure our defence force is adequately informed and fully understanding of new developments.

I stress again that all of the existing safeguards and oversight mechanisms in the Intelligence Services Act 2001 will continue to apply. These include the statutory thresholds for the granting of authorisations, ministerial reporting requirements, and the independent oversight of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security. Likewise, strong oversight mechanisms will apply to the provision of emergency ministerial authorisations.

At this point in time, when we know that terrorism is a threat to Australians; it is paramount that we act, because typically in these kinds of situations, governments have only two options: acting early or too late. I am all for freedom. As many of my colleagues will agree, we simply cannot let terrorist threats change our lives or scare us out of being ourselves. If we do so, terrorism has won us over.

But we cannot turn away from the fact that terrorism is a very real threat. My constituents know that. I know that. The government of Australia knows that. Even when I am in Canberra participating in the debates in this place I am very conscious of how this legislation is viewed by those meeting at the coffee shop in North Lakes, by the mums and dads taking their children to school in Bracken Ridge, or at the pensioners' meetings in Redcliffe. This is all about the safety of Australians. These amendments give those mums and dads, grandmothers, grandfathers and pensioners comfort knowing that their security agencies, law enforcement agencies and our Australian Defence Forces are looking after their community and knowing that the safety of their children and grandchildren are paramount. They can plan their future in the knowledge that the hard decisions are being made by their government.

Importantly, I stress again that the appropriate checks and balances are in place. Members of parliament representing communities all across Australia know that there is a threat and that we have to do something to address it. As the Prime Minister the Hon. Tony Abbott said, 'We can't guarantee that there will never be a terrorist attack. All we can guarantee is we are as well prepared as possible.'

See this speech in context