Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We are here today speaking about national security because around the world—in Europe, Africa and other places as well—there is an evil that seeks to undermine great principles and great traditions. We are having this debate because people have died. They have been attacked by evil. They have been attacked by people that have no regard for the sanctity of human life. There have been attacked by people who claim piety in their religion and yet, through their acts and through the way they so often live their lives, they show no religious background whatsoever. They have no piety. They have nothing to recommend them. They are, in my view, subhuman.

Ankara just recently, Mali just a few days ago, Tunisia yesterday, and Paris, of course: these are the most recent examples of where this evil, this terrorism, is taking place. It is by Daesh, IS by another name, and Boko Haram. The names are out there, but really this is all about an evil philosophy that has no real connection whatsoever with humanity.

In the face of these threats, and in the face of these deaths that they have inflicted upon not just France but the other countries I have mentioned, we are fortunate because we have great strength. We refuse to bow down and accept the fear that these terrorists offer. We refuse to change our policies with regard to Syria and Iraq. That is one of the things they want, of course—a change in policy. They want us to back off from the bombing raids that are taken place against IS. They want us to accept their plans for a caliphate, a radical Islamist nation with a radical Islamist agenda. So they are trying to instil fear to make sure there is a change of policy, and we must resist that.

What is required is absolutely the resolute action we have seen in recent days. Faced with the brutal and inhuman attacks in Paris, we saw the French President saying, 'No, we're not going to back off. In fact, we're going to hit you harder.' Indeed, that is exactly what happened. I believe there were 12 major bombs into Raqqa, in Syria. That is the right response on these sorts of occasions.

Of course, in Europe they do not have the same advantages that we have here. We are an island nation. Our ability to control our borders is very clear and it has been exact under this government. We also have a history of restricting access to automatic weapons—again, a problem that Europe unfortunately continues to have. We have taken action against elements that can make up explosives and we have done that over many years as well. We have our outstanding Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, ASIO, which does a wonderful job, assisted by the Australian Federal Police and the state police forces. Of course, we also have the Australian Defence forces—the Army, the Navy and the Air Force—that do such wonderful work in Syria and in Iraq, and even here in the homeland, Australia itself. We have these advantages. We have these organisations and agencies that are defending this country and doing the right thing.

We are also greatly aided, in the face of the threat of Islamist terrorists who are, unfortunately, attacking so many places around the world, by those people of the Muslim faith who are prepared to stand up and report on the radicals. I myself have been contacted by people in the past who tell me about these threats in Perth—not in Western Sydney or Melbourne but in Perth. I have referred those matters on to the appropriate agency. I say thank you to all those people who are prepared to stand up and be counted and say, 'These are not the threats that I want for my country,' and talk to the relevant authorities to identify those who are a threat to this country. They are good Australians, and I greatly appreciate what they do for our country.

We are, however, faced with a highly media savvy threat, and that is Daesh. They have thousands of Twitter accounts, they are most active on social media and they are able to reach out to people who can be appealed to by the message that they put out there. There might be an element of religious piety in their message, but, as I have said in the past in this place, unfortunately they reach out to the darkest nature of some people. They reach out to the people who like to hurt other people. They reach out to bring people to Syria or Iraq on behalf of Daesh. They reach out to people who like the idea of maybe being paedophiles or sadists or participating in the sexual slavery of others. These are some of the messages that I think appeal to the darkest nature of these sorts of people. These people are not just from Australia. They are from around the world; many countries have these foreign fighters. I would suggest that what draws them to this fight and what probably draws them to terrorist acts in Australia and elsewhere is this interest in those darkest of motivations. I believe that, whilst they might talk a little bit about religious faith and piety, that might be a cover for this darkness in their souls, in their natures and in their motivations. It is the darkness which appeals to these people.

I cannot imagine why someone would take steps to cut another person's head off, have sexual contact with a child or sell somebody as a slave. I cannot imagine how someone could do that. It is because I cannot imagine how a real human could do that that I absolutely and fundamentally believe the only way that Daesh will be defeated is militarily. The total destruction and bombing of these people are very good things. If an Australian is involved in such brutality and evil over there and they are bombed as well, I think that is a great thing because they are not, in my view, any longer worthy of being an Australian or being considered human. If that is what they do—if they do those sorts of dark, terrible things—then they should not be regarded as human. They should have no standing. I appreciate the fact that firm action, such as air strikes—whether it is by the French, by the Americans or by our own outstanding Air Force—is a good way forward. Who knows? In the future, there might be a need for other forms of military action as part of a dedicated attempt by a coalition to do what needs to be done. I do not think that we should ever rule out resolute action to defeat evil, to destroy evil and to kill all those involved with this evil. It is something that we must be prepared to do. I can see it coming in the future.

With regard to Australia, I have already talked about some of the people in my community in Cowan who have approached me and told me about the things that they have seen and heard. They are prepared to stand up and be counted and, through me, make contact with the relevant agencies. I commend them again for that. I commend all those Muslim leaders who are also prepared to stand up and be very clear in their condemnation of terrorism and the evil of Daesh. The challenge, of course, is to make sure that the message that we put out there is very clear, listened to and reaches those who could be corrupted by the message of Daesh. That is really important. When we see a 15­year­old who can basically leave a mosque, leave the influence of others, and go up behind a public servant in the streets of Parramatta and shoot him in the back of the head, it really says something about the threat level in this country.

Whilst I think the agencies that we have working against this threat and the laws that this parliament has passed and continues to consider passing are the right way that we must act and are the right way for us to be prepared to defend this great country from such threats, we also need the cooperation of all the people in the community, including Muslim leaders. I encourage parents and extended families to be prepared to talk to their young people about how evil IS is and how evil Daesh is and what they do has nothing to do with correct behaviour. There is no excuse for joining IS and there is no excuse for what IS does. There must be an engagement. There must be people who are prepared to talk about this in the houses of this country to help turn young people from this path, to tell them that there is no redemption in acting for IS and to tell them that society is not against them. There is no excuse for acting like this. No grievance justifies this sort of evil behaviour. This country is a land of opportunity. This country is a land where people, if they want to work hard and get stuck into their education, they can achieve great things. It does not matter where someone comes from. What matters is their character and their willingness to work hard to achieve a successful future.

I again offer my condolences to those families who have lost loved ones. We, together as a parliament, are resolute in our commitment to fight the evil of terrorism, to fight Daesh, to destroy it and to see this world a safer place as a result.

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