Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Sunsetting Review and Other Measures) Bill 2021. The truth is that we live in very uncertain times. While we wish it were not so, we know that there are individuals, groups and movements around the world, within Australia and within our own community that wish to do Australia and Australians harm. Our most important responsibility is to keep Australians safe and to protect our way of life, our freedom and our values. Since September 2014 Australia's law enforcement agencies have disrupted 18 major terrorist attack plots. There have been 128 people charged as a result of 59 counterterrorism related operations around Australia. There are 52 terrorist offenders currently behind bars for committing a Commonwealth terrorism offence. Since 2014 the government has allocated more than $61 million to countering violent extremism programs, including more than $13 million for intervention programs.

These individuals, these groups and these movements are driven by many motives. But at their core they are all driven by violent antipathy to all Australians' way of life. Whether it be our multiculturalism, our democracy or our freedom, they wish to change our way of life through acts of violence and the resulting fear they evoke. We are lucky in Australia to have world-class intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies. These agencies are filled with dedicated men and women from all backgrounds who work day in, day out to protect all Australians. Whether it is probing the underbelly of the internet and the encrypted chats of violent extremists, tracking potential threats or preventing terrorist attacks, their tireless efforts keep us safe.

This bill is about ensuring those agencies continue to have the powers they need to keep us safe. That is why this bill must be passed without delay. This bill provides for the continuation of key counterterrorism powers that have helped to protect the lives of Australians since their enactment. In response to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security's 2021 Review of 'declared areas' provisions, the bill will extend the sunsetting of declared areas provisions in the Criminal Code Act to 7 September 2024 and will amend the Intelligence Services Act 2001 to provide for the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to review these provisions by 7 January 2024, ahead of the new sunsetting date.

The declared areas offence forms an important part of the Morrison government's efforts to stop the flow of foreign fighters to overseas conflict zones and to mitigate the risk that returning foreign fighters pose to Australians. Although there are currently no declared areas, these provisions remain a necessary component of our framework, particularly as we consider the current threat environment and look to the future. Control orders and preventative detention orders are important tools for our agencies. Control orders assist in preventing a terrorist attack or foreign incursion, and they are vital for managing the risk posed by persons who continue to present a risk to the community. Similarly, the preventative detention orders are important in preventing an imminent terrorist attack and in preserving vital evidence in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.

Part 4 of schedule 1 of the bill also extends the operation of the stop, search and seizure powers regime by a further 15 months. This will ensure that the Australian Federal Police are able to respond consistently and effectively to a terrorist incident or threat. This will ensure that these powers do not sunset and will provide time for the government to consider any recommendations of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security's most recent review of Australian Federal Police powers. As the parliamentary joint committee found, and as is noted in their 2018 report into AFP powers, these powers are expected to be exercised only in rare and exceptional circumstances and they remain necessary, particularly in the light of the number of threats against Commonwealth places that have been disrupted in recent years.

As the Attorney-General noted in the other place, this bill reflects the government's ongoing commitment to protecting the Australian community from the threat of terrorism and ensuring that our law enforcement agencies continue to be able to manage the evolving national security threat environment. Our law enforcement agencies have our backs each day. They keep us safe from the worst of society, and we must have their back by ensuring that they continue to have at their disposal the tools that they need to do their jobs effectively.

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