George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes the threat of violent extremism to Australian society;

(2) further notes the:

(a) acts of terrorism committed by violent extremists within Australia against Australians;

(b) specific terrorism incidents:

  (i) the attack on police officers at Endeavour Hills Police Station in 2014;

  (ii) the siege at Sydney' Martin Place which resulted in the death of two Australians; and

  (iii) most recently the murder of Mr Curtis Cheng at Parramatta Police Station; and

(c) significant number of ISIL recruits coming from Australia;

(3) commends the Australian police forces for their efforts in countering terrorism;

(4) notes the numerous acts of terror which have been prevented because of police efforts, in particular the:

(a) attempt by the 'Sydney Five' to commit acts of terrorism in the city of Sydney in 2005;

(b) Benbrika Group's planned bombing of various sporting events in 2005 and 2006 as well as a plot to assassinate former Prime Minister the Hon. John Howard; and

(c) 2009 plot to storm the Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney;

(5) praises the Prime Minister for his statement in response to the recent terrorism incident in Parramatta, that it is not compulsory to live in Australia and if one finds Australian values unpalatable then 'there's a big wide world out there and people have got freedom of movement'; and

(6) calls for continued action in countering violent extremism and in particular, radical Islam within Australia in order to prevent further acts of terrorism within our borders.

This motion concerns the threat of violent extremism, particularly in the form of radical Islam, in Australia, a the threat that has been borne out in this country. This is not violence for the sake of violence; it is violence driven by an extreme ideology, a jihadist ideology that does not accept the Australian way of life.

The ideology of Islamism despises our freedom, hates democracy and rejects our values—Australian values—which are very clearly defined. They are no state secret. When someone applies for a provisional, permanent or temporary visa, applicants must sign a statement that they have read and understood about the following Australian values: respect for freedom and dignity of the individual; freedom of religion; commitment to the rule of law, parliamentary democracy, equality of men and women, and the spirit of egalitarianism; and embraces things like mutual respect, tolerance, fair play and compassion for those in need in pursuit of the public good. These are the values that new citizens and new entrants to Australia sign up to, but not all citizens—or, indeed, their children—agree with these values in practice. In practice, some people hate these values. Those people can be found in Paris, they can be found in Europe, they can be found in the Middle East. Sadly, they can be found in Australia.

We would be kidding ourselves to think everyone in this country subscribes to our common set of values, and we would be foolish to think that there are not jihadists in this country who wish to do us harm because of who we are and the values that we hold dear as a nation. We have witnessed the violent extremism inherent in radical Islam in this country. We have witnessed the attack on police officers at the Endeavour Hills police station last year by a person who brandished an Islamic State flag while dressed in military gear in a photo posted to social media, where he also attacked or vilified police and security forces in this country online. We witnessed the siege at Martin Place in Sydney where two Australians were killed by a man who wanted police to bring him an Islamic State flag, a man who was a self-styled imam with thousands of Facebook followers. We witnessed the murder of Curtis Cheng at the Parramatta police station by a man who repeatedly chanted 'Allahu Akbar' after the killing. And we have seen a significant number of Australian citizens recruited by Islamic State—hundreds, in fact—who have left this country to go over and fight for that terrorist organisation.

The Australian police forces and security services have done a magnificent job combating radical Islamic terror plots—not just in their handling of the examples I listed but also in the prevention of others that have not gone ahead. Numerous acts of terror have been prevented through diligent police efforts and the efforts of security services, including the attempt by the 'Sydney Five' to commit acts of terrorism in Sydney in 2005. The Benbrika group's planned bombing of various sporting events in 2005 and 2006 was diverted, as well as the plot to assassinate former Prime Minister John Howard that the Benbrika group came up with. There was also a plot to storm the Holsworthy barracks in Sydney in 2009—again foiled by security and police efforts.

The disturbing thing about these foiled jihadist terrorist plots, and the ones that were actually enacted, is knowing that people walk amongst us who are both willing and able to commit these atrocities. Many of the people who hate Australia, Australian people and Australian values are not forced to live here. Some have dual citizenship and can just as easily go and live in another country. Others have the ability to gain citizenship of another country because their parents came to this country, often under the guise of seeking asylum or something like that. I would acknowledge the message the Prime Minister gave to those people when he said in his response to the terrorism incident in Parramatta:

It is not compulsory to live in Australia. If you find Australian values unpalatable, then there's a big wide world out there and people have got freedom of movement.

They should exercise it.

The government is taking the issue a step further, with a bill stripping citizenship from dual citizens who join with foreign fighters such as Islamic State soon to go to the vote in the Senate. I note that Labor is now talking about opposing that, and that is concerning. I believe the message should go further than that. We should strip citizenship from those who have the ability to become citizens of another country when they join foreign fighters or threaten this country and its people with terrorism. It would be a fair assumption that, if someone truly hated this country and everything it stood for, they would leave if they could—and they should leave. I say: goodbye to them, good riddance, and don't let the Customs gate hit you on the way out.

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