Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, can I commend the shadow minister for this motion. It is one that is for those of us who are desperately and constantly concerned about national security and foreign interference. I also commend the shadow minister for her work in Home Affairs prior to the change of government. The then minister was very focused on these issues. I commend her for her efforts, and I think we see a continuation of that today with the motion that's before the House.

Online foreign interference is constantly evolving. Having done so much in the cybersafety space, I've seen a lot of it, and it poses a unique and very real risk to Australia—to our democracy, to our citizens, to our businesses and to our way of life. I believe it poses a similar threat to all Western democracies, and I think much of the world has followed Australia's lead in what we've done in this online space on foreign interference, Shadow Minister, so I think you can comfortably take that but work even harder, as I'm sure you are already doing. I know that ASIO Director-General of Security Mike Burgess recently declared that Australia, on the back of this work, 'cannot be complacent' and that espionage is a 'real and present danger' that demands that we take our national security and this security seriously.

We know that foreign actors, including foreign intelligence services, have been and are aggressively pursuing opportunities to interfere with and influence Australian decision-makers at all levels of government and across a range of sectors. These activities are very clever and very careful, and they can undermine Australia's national security. They can undermine our open, democratic system of government and, ultimately, our sovereignty as a nation. The same foreign actors are targeting the Australian people, seeking to change how and what they think. Combined with that is the role of social media—

A divis ion having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 13 : 19 to 13 : 30

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