Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Unfortunately, we live in troubling times. The recent terror attacks in Paris were a halting reminder that the threat of terror remains very real and present and that the decision to lift the national terrorist threat level to high in September was not an overreaction. Australians were heartbroken and shocked as news of the sieges that occurred in Paris filtered through. Millions took to social media in solidarity with hashtags like 'pray for Paris', 'je suis Paris' and 'peace for Paris' and filtered their profile pictures with the tricolours of the French flag. In Sydney the Opera House was lit with the blue, white and red of the French flag. In Brisbane it was the Story Bridge; in Melbourne the MCG and the arts centre spire, in Perth the Council House and in South Australia the Riverbank Bridge. Across the world the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro was bathed in the French tricolours and in London Tower Bridge and the London Eye were lit. In America, the One World Trade Centre and San Francisco City Hall and the Empire State Building were lit in the tricolours. In Las Vegas, the replica of the Eiffel Tower went dark.

Vigils were held around Australia and around the world. More than 200 people gathered in Sydney's Martin Place for a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the Paris attacks. Those who gathered in Martin Place felt a special kind of solidarity for the Parisians as they held vigil at the scene of the Sydney siege. Perhaps we all felt a kinship in some way to Parisians because we have experienced events of terror in our own homeland. Almost a year ago, on 15 and 16 December, a single man wielding a gun took control of the Lindt cafe in Martin Place. There were ten customers and eight employees—all ordinary people going about their day. It was a shocking and confronting event that reminded all Australians that we are not immune to acts of terror and that we must remain ever vigilant to keep Australian people safe. With 130 deceased and 368 injured, victims of the Paris attacks were just like those who were held during the Martin Place siege—ordinary people dining in a restaurant, ordinary people attending a concert. They were ordinary people going about their day but their lives were taken in a cowardly, callous and brutal attack in the name of invoking terror and fear. We stood with many other nations in solidarity with the French in the wake of the attacks.

We must, and we do, also acknowledge the massive loss of lives at the hands of ISIL, otherwise referred to as Daesh. The day before the attacks in Paris, on 12 November, a suicide bombing in Beirut took 40 innocent lives. We mourn with the innocent, the displaced the grieving and the lost. Violent extremism as a very real and present threat to the liberties and freedoms we enjoy in Australia. The Prime Minister last week delivered a statement in relation to our national security. He said:

When innocent people are dying at the hands of violent extremists, no matter where in the world this is happening, hard questions are asked of societies like our own—hard questions for which there are no easy answers. For all freedom-loving nations, the message could not be clearer: if we want to preserve the values that underpin our open, democratic societies, we will have to work resolutely with each other to defend and protect the freedoms we hold dear.

The Australian people can be confident that we as a government led by Prime Minister Turnbull are working and will continue to work diligently and closely with our security agencies to prevent terrorist incidents from occurring. Security agencies such as ASIO, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Defence Force are continuing to work methodically and strategically to ensure public safety is maintained. Since September last year the terror alert level has been high and the government has been formulating and presenting five branches of national security laws which will assist the relevant agencies to have the tools they need to operate effectively in combating terror. The difficult task is that ISIL reflects a perversion of Islamist extreme ideology. As the Prime Minister put it:

Not all extremism ends in violence but all politically motivated violence begins with extremist ideology.

When ISIL emerged as an extremist terrorist group out of al-Qaeda in Iraq and Syria their territorial gains in Syria and Iraq fed into their own narrative of conquest. It is known that, by most measures ISIL is in a fundamentally weak position. As a country, we must not be fooled by ISIL's hype. While the ideologies it holds are archaic, the use of the internet to manipulate and extort our community is modern. The Prime Minister spoke about Australia's contribution to the coalition forces, saying:

Australia’s contribution to coalition forces on the ground in Iraq is second only to that of the United States and large relative to our population and proximity to the conflict. It is larger, for example, than that of any European nation, larger than Canada's or any of the neighbouring Arab states. We have six FA18s involved in missions in that theatre, with 240 personnel in the air task group, 90 Special Forces advisers, and around 300 soldiers training the Iraqi army at Taji.

Last April I was privileged to participate in the ADF parliamentary program and witness first hand the outstanding work being undertaken by our military men and women in the Middle East. Being able to participate in this program and meet with the ADF personnel deployed in the Middle East and Afghanistan was a huge honour and experience that I will treasure forever. I am in awe of the professionalism, attitude and dedication of our defence personnel and thank them for their commitment to protecting our nation.

The most important priority for any government is to keep their nation safe and secure. When it comes to national security, there can be no shortcuts. Currently we are experiencing testing times and this government is committed to ensuring the safety of all law-abiding citizens. We should never underestimate the threat of terrorism present in modern day Australia. Since the Bali bombings in 2002, which claimed the lives of 88 innocent Australians, we have been alert to the dangers of those who disagree with our freedoms and way of life. The government is working diligently to do all within its power to halt terrorism at its source or point of origin.

Australian counter-terrorism agencies must be able to share information in a secure manner with traditional allies and regional partners to prevent potential terrorist attacks. In May this year we were aware of 30 Australians who travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan between 1990 and 2010 to train at extremist camps and/or fight with extremists. Of these, 25 individuals returned to Australia and 19 engaged in activities of security concern following their return. Eight were subsequently convicted of terrorism related offences, with five still serving prison sentences. The number of Australians with hands-on terrorist experiences in Syria and Iraq is now several times what it was in Afghanistan and the challenge is much greater.

The government has already strengthened Australia's national security laws and provided law enforcement agencies with increased powers to address the threat from foreign fighters, including the ability to arrest or place control orders on those who return. In addition to these measures, I supported the government's moves to remove Australian citizenship status from dual citizens who are involved in terrorism at home or abroad. These are indeed harsh measures, but they are entirely fitting of the crime. Let's not for one minute forget that these extremists are fighting against the brave men and women of the Australian Defence Force—men and women who are placing their lives on the line to protect Australia's values and freedoms.

Recently foiled terrorist plots on Australian soil demonstrate the need to maintain and support both the Australian Defence Force and other government agencies at the very forefront of counter-terrorism actions. While the urgency to address the national security threat has intensified over the past 12 months, this government has been committed to enhancing the safety of Australians since its election. This is why the 2015 budget included $1.2 billion in new funding for national security, building upon the $1 billion announced last year. In total, the government is spending over $35 billion on defence, national security and law enforcement. This includes: investing in our own security—including protecting our borders from terrorism and crime—preventing Australians from joining or supporting terrorist organisations, and improving collaboration in our community and with our region to address the uncertainties we all face, including terrorism.

However, support and action from the community with regard to the acknowledgement of their own safety is also required. Only last week, I issued a media release strongly advising Central Coast residents heading overseas to ensure they have updated their travel plans with the government. The smartraveller website is the best source of information for those heading overseas to find out the latest advice for travellers and for consulate staff to utilise in case of an emergency. The recent attacks in France have highlighted the need to ensure that when travelling overseas details are kept up to date. It was only due to the vigilance of travellers who provided their journey plans at smartraveller that Australian consulate officials were able to quickly locate and gain an understanding of the status of Australians in France. While there is a continuing and a longstanding threat of terrorist attacks across the world, Australians are viewed by ISIL and other terrorist groups as a target. This fact is unfortunate—scary but true. Even in cases where attacks may not specifically target Australian interests, Australians can and have been harmed in indiscriminate attacks or attacks aimed at others. As Australian citizens, we need to make sure that we are all vigilant in our planning, and it is important we all do what we can to make sure our travel overseas is as safe as possible.

As a government, we are steadfast in our resolution to uphold and defend democracy, and the rights and freedoms of the democratic world. We must remember that well over one million Iraqis and Syrians have been driven from their homes by an extremist death cult determined to eliminate a particular group of people from our world. The shocking images of beheadings, crucifixions and mass executions will haunt our memories for the remainder of time. Australia is certainly a lucky country. Our democracy was not born from bloodshed, civil uprising or war, and to this end the concept of people wanting to do harm to our people remains a foreign one. Matters of national security should rise above the political divide. Not all sympathisers of the ISIL death cult will leave our shores to physically lift a gun and fire a bullet; some have a terrifying role to conduct from the comfort of the Australian suburbs. This includes supporting and facilitating terrorism through the provision of funds and equipment or by recruiting vulnerable young people to champion their cause, and even to die for it and, more alarmingly, conduct acts of barbaric terrorism here on Australian shores.

As a government and as a nation, failure is simply not an option. We must continue to demonstrate our resolve and defend our freedom. This government's determination to defeat the evils that wish to do us harm knows no bounds. We owe it to our Defence Force personnel who are currently abroad resolutely carrying out their duties to keep us safe. We owe it to the Australians who have lost their lives as a result of the senseless and barbaric acts of terrorist organisations. And we owe it to current and future Australians, who deserve to enjoy a safe and prosperous Australia free from the threat and danger of ideological extremists. Simply put, this is the greatest challenge a government can have. History will remember how we rose to the challenge.

There is no single measure to address the terrorism threat. The government has identified a suite of measures that, together, will best equip us in this fight, both at home and abroad. Australians of all races and religions unite to illustrate the power of what bonds us. Our unity will always prevail over those who seek to divide us. Instantaneously, we reach out to one another and are bound by common values. The various paths that make our nation great become converged into one. United people are always defiant in the face of adversity and tragedy. We are the envy of the world and, sadly, those who disagree with our democratic freedom pose a constant threat to everything that makes us unique.

However, it is becoming increasingly clear that Australia is losing its innocence to those who hate our freedoms and values. Many people have never imagined a terrorist event transpiring on our soil, but it has happened and, tragically, no doubt it may happen again. We are all too familiar with images each night on the news depicting intolerance abroad but never in our own backyard. Like those in Paris who marched in the aftermath of their tragedy, the people of Australia stand tall and defiant in the face of terrorism. We speak as one in that we will not tolerate hatred in our community. We will not tolerate those who sympathise with terrorist organisations or those willing to put Australians in harm due to their own reckless actions. We are stronger than ever before in our defiance of those who hate us and seek to do us harm. Australia is a beacon of hope and liberty throughout the world. Our values will never be compromised by those who want to suppress the freedoms of innocent men, women and children. We must not and we will not waiver from our obligation to Australia and its people.

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