Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is vital that every step is made to protect Australians' way of life from terrorist activity. The Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (AFP Powers and Other Matters) Bill 2022 stands to ensure the continuation of key counterterrorism powers that keep each and every one of us safe from criminal activity. Australians should be able to be carefree, focused on themselves and their family, their work and their future without the incessant worry of becoming a victim of senseless crime. While it is vital to implement legislation that keeps Australians safe, we must also remember that we are part of a liberal democracy, and, as lawmakers in this place, we must protect the individual rights of Australians. It is always a matter of striking a balance, and this bill achieves that.

With 18 convicted terrorists due for release into the community within the next four years, the former coalition government had foresight to protect Australians going forward, knowing that some terrorists are beyond the brink. The bill before us today is just another example of us needing to do everything in our powers so that our law enforcement agencies have the requisite tools and powers to safeguard Australians from harm. As legislators, our responsibility is to prevent radicalisation and to rehabilitate violent extremists, when possible, to keep Australians safe. We need to give law enforcement agencies the resources and powers to tackle these threats, and we need to ensure our country's counterterrorism arrangements are consistent, resilient and proportionate to the threats at hand.

In the coalition's time in government, the total investment in programs countering violent extremism was nearly doubled. This is a clear representation of the coalition's continued support to keeping Australians safe from violent extremist ideologies in all forms. As a new MP, it's great to see—it's not unexpected—the bipartisan support for this bill and for our AFP.

In recent years, the threat of cyberterrorism has increased, with more incidents recorded now than ever before. While of different nature to the terrorist activity that the bill before us seeks to prevent, cyberterrorism has the potential to cause great harm. Last Thursday we saw what cyber incidents can look like. The Optus data breach saw 9.8 million Australians affected, with 2.8 million people losing 'significant amounts of data'. Information including customer's names, dates of birth, email addresses, phone addresses, addresses associated with their account, drivers licence numbers and passport numbers was compromised.

But the seriousness of cybercrime does not end there. In 2007 Estonia was bombarded by cyberterrorist activity that led to huge communications breakdowns, banking failures and media blackouts—destabilising their whole economy. More recently, Ukraine, in the months leading up to the Russian invasion, was subject to cyberattacks that took down around 70 government websites, including those for key ministries as well as those for bank services. In this evolving world, we must keep up to date on all forms of threats and acknowledge that they can come from any angle.

The September 11 attacks of 2001 occurred 21 years ago, when I was in year 11. We all remember where we were when we heard about the attacks. These attacks shaped all of our lives, and we must remember, even as the world addresses new geopolitical challenges, with much focus on cybercrime and tensions with Russia and China, that the threat of terrorism in all forms still exists. We must stay vigilant to the evils that exist in the world. With 29 terrorist organisations now listed under the Criminal Code, it is more important than ever to maintain our country's safety. We must make laws that protect our citizens from terrorism, while also ensuring our freedoms are maintained within Australia's liberal democracy.

Every Australian deserves to live carefree, with the knowledge that their law enforcement agencies are doing everything that they can to prevent terrorist activity on our country's soil. The extension of the sunsetting date of these vital powers that the Australian Federal Police hold will allow them to continue to respond to terrorist threats, while giving the parliament sufficient time to ensure the complex recommendations of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security on updating these powers. I am proud to support this bill, and I commend this bill to the House.

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