Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Sunsetting Review and Other Measures) Bill 2021, and I begin with the observation that the defence of the nation and the security of its people is the No. 1 priority of any national government. If a government cannot bring those ends to a good conclusion on an ongoing basis, then most other things fall away. If we need a reminder of the importance of the ongoing fight against terrorism, surely we've had it in the past few days in what's happened in the Middle East.

Let us recall why such legislation is important. We've had nine terrorist attacks in Australia, and numerous ones have been averted. Many individuals have been charged, and 52 are currently in prison as a result of convictions relating to terrorism. We know that at least 230 individuals have travelled to Syria and Iraq to participate in activities there, that some 250 Australian passports have been cancelled and that at least 65 Australians or former Australians have fought with terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.

These are compelling matters. I was reflecting in the past couple of days that a large number of Australians weren't born when the latest terrorism events occurred. How many Australians were either not born or too young to remember 9/11 and the other events which have occurred around the world since then? So we do need a reminder from time to time as to why measures such as this, which may have been regarded a generation ago as unnecessary, remain pertinent to the security of the nation today.

Let me remind the House of the provisions in this particular bill. Firstly, it extends for a further three years, until 7 September 2024, the declared areas provision in sections 119.2 and 119.3 of the Criminal Code. Section 119.2 pertains to entering or remaining in declared areas, and it states:

(1) A person commits an offence if:

  (a) the person enters, or remains in, an area in a foreign country; and

  (b) the area is an area declared by the Foreign Affairs Minister under section 119.3; and

  (c) when the person enters the area, or at any time when the person is in the area, the person:

     (i) is an Australian citizen; or

      (ii) is a resident of Australia; or

     (iii) is a holder under the Migration Act 1958 of a visa; or

     (iv) has voluntarily put himself or herself under the protection of Australia.

That's the central matter which this goes to. Section 119.3 pertains to the declaration of areas for the purposes of section 119.2 and states:

The Foreign Affairs Minister may, by legislative instrument, declare an area in a foreign country for the purposes of section 119.2 if he or she is satisfied that a listed terrorist organisation is engaging in a hostile activity in that area of the foreign country.

Those two provisions set out further detail as to how a declaration is made and the consequences of such a declaration. The purpose of this bill is to extend, as I said, for a further three years, those particular provisions, particularly to enable the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to undertake a review of the operation of the provisions.

Secondly, part 2 of schedule 1 of the bill extends for a further 15 months the control order under division 104 of the Criminal Code until 7 December 2022. Division 104 relates to control orders and states:

The objects of this Division are to allow obligations, prohibitions and restrictions to be imposed on a person by a control order for one or more of the following purposes:

(a) protecting the public from a terrorist act;

(b) preventing the provision of support for or the facilitation of a terrorist act;

(c) preventing the provision of support for or the facilitation of the engagement in a hostile activity in a foreign country.

Given the statistics I read out at the beginning of my remarks, one can see why such a provision is a necessary provision. Once again, it is something that this bill extends so that a proper review of it can be undertaken.

Part 3 of schedule 1 of the bill extends for a further 15 months the preventative detention order regime in division 105 of the Criminal Code until 7 December 2022. Division 105 relates to preventative detention orders. The object, as set out in the legislation, is:

… to allow a person to be taken into custody and detained for a short period of time in order to:

(a) prevent a terrorist act that is capable of being carried out, and could occur, within the next 14 days from occurring; or

(b) preserve evidence of, or relating to, a recent terrorist act.

Again, given the statistics which I recited earlier in this contribution, one can see the importance of having such a preventative measure in place in the legislation in Australia.

I conclude on this note: it is through a combination of good management and, frankly, good luck that we haven't had more terrorist incidents in this country. The fact that we have been successful in identifying terrorist activity, the fact that we have been successful in preventing it from occurring and the fact we have been successful in terms of prosecuting and imprisoning people who have been engaged in terrorism acts in the past should not make us in any way complacent to the ongoing threats that occur and will occur in this country. The reality is that there are, in our presence, a group—albeit a small group—of those who would wish to do the worst to this country in terms of carrying out some ideological agenda. That's the reality we have to face. We cannot be complacent. Eternal vigilance is what is required, and this legislation is part of the legislative response to having that eternal vigilance.

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