Henry Pike (Bowman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

This bill provides a 12-month extension to AFP counterterrorism powers that are currently scheduled to sunset on the seventh of December this year, which is not very far away when I think that, when I visited the shops over the course of the weekend, I noticed Christmas decorations were already out. Perhaps there should be some legislation in this place to outlaw that practice this early in the year! But the powers that will sunset on 7 December concern, particularly, stop, search and seizure powers, control orders, and preventative detention orders. As the provisions of this bill provide merely an extension of the current AFP powers, there is no financial impact anticipated.

The parliament previously granted these special AFP powers for a very sober reason—that being the existence of a probable terrorist threat to Australia and Australians. This threat has not abated. While the attention of the Australian public has been somewhat distracted by the recent COVID pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine, I think that it's very timely that the parliament consider the extension of these provisions and recognise the fact that the terrorist threat is still out there. It hasn't gone away, even though perhaps the attention of the media and the Australian public has quite rightly gone on to other, newer threats. That threat remains—to this day—probable, and I'm sure every member of this House believes strongly in safeguarding all basic human rights and freedoms enshrined in law, without exception.

While I'm new to this chamber, I also believe with some confidence that all members in this place also hold as their highest priority the obligation to keep Australians safe, especially from those who wish to do us harm, both from abroad and from within. It is to this end that the coalition acknowledges the vital importance of maintaining the security architecture that it previously put in place to meet the threat of terrorism on home soil. For this reason, the opposition is going to be supporting this bill.

The coalition recognises that terrorism presented and still presents an enduring challenge for our social cohesion and personal safety. Australian police and security agencies have a really strong record of successfully defending Australians against such threats, but our success against terrorist threats is highly dependent on having quick, effective and reliable access to the right tools. We should not remove these public safety tools from the hands of Australian Federal Police, who have been incredibly responsible in dealing with these powers and utilising them sparingly. When threats do emerge, we want to make sure that our AFP have these powers at their disposal if needed.

In 2014 the Abbott government, following the best security advice, raised the threat level to 'high' on the scale then, or 'probable' in today's scale. Australia's national terrorism threat has been maintained at 'probable' ever since, despite all the changes that we have endured over recent years. This fact—together with the shocking incidents of the intervening years, and many successfully averted terrorist threats—highlights the importance of eternal vigilance and the ability to respond with the appropriate tools. The stubborn persistence of the 'probable' threat, together with some appalling incidents which played out on city streets—and others that were prevented just in time from impacting on the Australian community—led the coalition to decisively enact the current AFP emergency powers regime.

I think it is important to acknowledge the great work that the Australian Federal Police have done over recent decades to defend the Australian community from the threat of terrorism. In Australia we do an amazing job of recognising the service and the sacrifice of our defence personnel. It's probably an area where we can improve a bit more, to recognise the work of police, both at the state and territory level and our Federal Police and, particularly, the amazing job that they've done in handling threats that don't enter the consciousness of many Australians, but the AFP are quietly doing their work in this city, and others around Australia, to keep us all safe. I acknowledge that on Thursday we're going to be commemorating the Australian Police Remembrance Day. We've lost 11 AFP and Commonwealth Police and Peace Officers over the course of the history of Australian federal policing. I think it's important that we take a day out to recognise that and acknowledge the amazing work that they've done under incredibly trying circumstances.

In September 2014, the same month Prime Minister Abbott raised the threat level, Australian police carried out the largest counterterrorism operation in our nation's history, sending 800 armed officers into households across Sydney and across my hometown of Brisbane, to detain Australian citizens who had recently returned from fighting alongside IS militants in the Middle East. One of the men arrested was Omarjan Azari, who was later charged with conspiracy to commit demonstration killings. It was AFP emergency powers—mainly the control order regime, one of the three elements of this bill—implemented by the former coalition government that ensured that Azari could not communicate with certain people and that helped secure his conviction.

This is but one of the several examples where AFP special powers were directly, but sparingly, used to protect the Australian public in real time against real terrorist threats, and I think that is an important point. We haven't got time to race back into the parliament to legislate when these threats emerge. We need to make sure that the AFP have these powers on hand and that they have the ability to use them, if needed, in the future. With the threat level still at 'probable', who knows when that time will come? It's important for the government to introduce this bill and get this bill passed so we can ensure the AFP have these powers beyond the 7 December sunset date.

While the coalition supports the essence of the bill—namely, extending the sunset date to give the government more time to consider recommendations, consult accordingly and draft legislation—we also acknowledge some related concerns. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security report on AFP powers which was released in October last year made a total of 19 recommendations, including amendments and additional safeguards which, if accepted, will mean greater operational complexity for law enforcement. While the appropriateness of certain PJCIS recommendations may not be a direct criticism of this bill, it is nevertheless possible to argue that a greater compliance burden may impact the efficacy of established AFP powers that have seen only rare use in the years since their introduction. While this bill gives effect to a sunset provision, to be extended by one year, it is important that the issues raised in the PJCIS report be dealt with promptly and that these emergency powers be given appropriate certainty under law for a realistic period of not less than three years. The coalition supports this bill and urges the Labor government to review and, where feasible, implement the PJCIS recommendations as a matter of urgency.

The coalition recognises the importance of our counterterrorism measures in 2022 and agrees that the bill provides for the continuation of key powers that keep Australians safe. The coalition acknowledges the unanimous PJCIS support for the extension of AFP powers—including stop, search and seizure powers; control order powers; and preventative detention order powers—for a further three years from the sunset date. The coalition believes that an extra year will allow the government to review the PJCIS report and recommendations, consult widely and draft relevant legislation to extend this further. The coalition members and senators will certainly monitor the Labor government's actions closely to ensure that they keep their promise to consult widely with the community and other stakeholders, as well as state and territory governments—something they have been historically quite poor at doing. We trust that, despite Labor's propensity to leverage state power in the lives of individuals, these special powers will remain special, targeted and infrequent in their use.

Collectively, under the coalition, these powers were only ever used sparingly. Only 23 control orders were issued over the past eight years. No preventative detention orders have ever been made, nor have there been any incidents that required emergency stop, search and seizure powers. The AFP have done an incredible job in ensuring that these powers were exercised sparingly and appropriately. We need to be careful when it comes to balancing these powers, and the coalition accepts that it may take a little more time to get the balance right in any new legislation. Therein lies the obligation. This Labor government must do just that and ensure the same level of balance that the coalition achieved in such a critical area of government responsibility. If Labor turns the dial down too far, then the life and property of Australians may be at risk, but, if they turn the dial too far the other way, then individual freedoms may be impacted.

The coalition recognise that, while the media focus of recent years has been on other issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the threat of terrorism has certainly not gone away. As I've mentioned, it's certainly departing the consciousness of the public very quickly. I do note that it doesn't seem to appear in discussion around election debates anymore. This isn't an issue that gathers the news headlines that it did 10 or even 20 years ago. But, while the media attention has gone away, our terror threat level remains at that very high 'probable' rating. While we continue to face a probable threat, the existing AFP powers, which have proven to be very effective—short and medium term powers to investigate, prevent and contain that threat—should be continued through this bill. The coalition believes the minimal use of these powers over the past eight years demonstrates that, provided an appropriate balance is maintained, they will not be misused.

I call on the Labor government to use wisely the extra time afforded by this bill. They should consult wisely. They should read those recommendations by the committee very closely and do it early in this extra year that's been given—use the opportunity. Why not have some legislation early in the new year to extend these provisions even further, rather than kicking it down the road another 12 months? Because this threat certainly isn't going away. The 'probable' threat level has been there for years, and there's no saying how long that threat is going to be hanging over us.

This government must ensure that an effective and transparent suite of special AFP powers are maintained to keep Australians safe and to safeguard human rights and freedoms above all. I trust that the government will take that appropriate action. Certainly, I know the coalition members will be keen to hold the government to account to ensure that we do get a very good outcome here in the new year and that these measures are appropriately implemented not just over the next 12 months but over the long term. I commend the bill to the House.

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