Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises the critical work of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) in safeguarding Australia's security and national interests;

(2) notes that ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess recently observed that 'Australia's threat environment is complex, challenging and changing';

(3) commends the Government for providing $1.3 billion over ten years in the 2021-22 Budget to help further improve ASIO's capabilities; and

(4) thanks the men and women who work in ASIO and our other national security agencies for their dedication to keeping Australians safe from a range of threats and to protecting our national sovereignty.

Many Australians don't appreciate what ASIO does to protect our freedom and our democracy by keeping terrorism, foreign interference and espionage at bay. That's because much of its important work, rightly, is invisible to the community. ASIO protects Australians from religiously motivated and ideologically motivated violence. It does this by collecting intelligence, analysing and investigating terrorism threats, and providing advice to and working with partners to strengthen public safety and to intervene to disrupt attacks.

Right now, ASIO is aware of multiple threats to Australia and several extremists who want to harm Australians. Australia's terrorism threat level remains at 'probable'. The changing nature of terrorism and violent extremism presents challenges for the early identification and detection of threats by ASIO. The threat of religiously motivated extremism from Sunni violent extremist groups persists, with the violent narrative espoused by terrorists groups such as ISIL and al-Qaeda continuing to inspire attacks here and overseas. However, people motivated by other forms of violent extremism, including ideologically motivated extremism and, specifically, nationalist or racist violent extremism, are also increasingly present in Australia. This now accounts for around 50 per cent of ASIO's current terrorism case load.

Investigations into ideological extremists have occurred in all Australian states and territories. The Director-General of Security, Mike Burgess, has said that this unprecedented shift in the national security threat to ideologically motivated extremism is being fuelled by disinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and other global events. He said:

In suburbs around Australia, small cells regularly meet to salute Nazi flags, inspect weapons, train in combat and share their hateful ideology.

For me, one of the most concerning aspects of their investigations is the growing number of young people, in particular young men, who are being radicalised by these ideologies. ASIO has identified people under the age of 18 involved in violent extremism, and has warned that minors had not only conducted terrorist attacks but had held leadership positions in terrorist organisations. In its annual report released last week, ASIO said:

Violent extremist narratives … particularly appeal to teenagers, and may resonate with some minors' feelings of alienation, unease about the future and mistrust of adults.

This should be of concern to all of us. In his 2020-21 annual threat assessment report, the Director-General of Security said:

The extremists are security conscious and adapt their security posture to avoid attention. In their online forums and chat rooms, they show that they're savvy when it comes to operating at the limits of what is legal and discuss ways to 'beat the system' in what they say and do.

ASIO anticipates that the threat from this form of extremism will not diminish anytime soon—and may well grow.

Any terrorism attack on home soil is more likely to be committed by a lone actor or a small group using simple methods and basic weapons such as knives, guns and vehicles.

The threat of espionage and foreign interference is at the highest it has ever been—higher even than during the Cold War. Espionage and foreign interference involves foreign actors, including state actors, trying to steal our secrets and interfere with and ultimately undermine our democracy. ASIO has responded to these threats with targeted investigations and campaigns that have meaningfully reduced harm. Working with their partners, their activities led to law enforcement outcomes and intelligence-led disruptions. Visas have been cancelled and spy networks dismantled. These activities have led to significant reductions in the number of foreign spies and their proxies operating here in Australia.

But ASIO remains concerned about the potential for Australia's adversaries to pre-position malicious code in critical infrastructure, particularly in areas such as telecommunications and energy. In this year's budget the government is giving ASIO unprecedented capacity to do what is required to protect our people and our national interest—$1.3 billion over 10 years. The additional investment will help ASIO to continue to out-imagine and outmanoeuvre sophisticated foreign adversaries and detect and disrupt violent extremists. It will significantly enhance ASIO's ability to identify and respond to threats posed by more-sophisticated groups, whether driven by religious or ideological motivations, or foreign interference. ASIO needs to keep up with technological developments and stay ahead of our adversaries; 97 per cent of priority counterterrorism investigations are being slowed down by ASIO's difficulty in excessing encrypted messaging. This is a serious challenge, especially when the Director-General reminds us that more data was created in the last two years than in the entire remaining human history. ASIO continues to adapt their counterterrorism efforts to respond to the changing security environment.

As a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I think I speak for all members of the committee when I say that we universally appreciate the candour, professionalism and independence of Mike Burgess, the Director-General of Security. I'd like to thank all the officers of ASIO for all they do to keep Australia and Australians safe.

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