Sophie Mirabella (Indi, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Attorney-General. Would the Attorney-General update the House on the outcome of the trial of Joseph Terrence Thomas? Did the counter-terrorism offences passed by this House play a role in that trial?

Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Indi for her question. The person mentioned, Joseph ‘Jack’ Thomas, is the first person to be charged with and convicted for specific offences under the counter-terrorism laws passed by this parliament in 2002. He is yet to be sentenced and it would be inappropriate to go into the details of the case.

I might say that there have been a number of comments on this matter by his representatives which, in the context of their role as officers of the court, I thought quite surprising. An awareness of the fact that we have a conviction for a serious terrorism offence—and that is the case—and a conviction for another offence relating to altering aspects of a passport document, an awareness of the fact that a magistrate saw fit to ensure that a person was put to his trial when the matter was brought before the magistrate and where, at the trial, the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt that applies to criminal standards applied and an awareness of the fact that Mr Thomas was found not guilty in relation to those two separate offences does not in any way detract from the fact that there was a conviction for a serious criminal offence. To suggest that this was some form of trophy trial is quite inappropriate. To suggest that this case demonstrates that people of Muslim faith should not cooperate with authorities is, I think, quite inappropriate for an officer of the court.

What this case demonstrates very clearly is that, if you get involved with terrorists and their activities, you do so at your own peril. There are laws that deal with these issues and the government is committed to ensuring that we do everything in our power, both domestically and internationally, to counter the terrorist threat to our people. We want to ensure their safety and their security, and I am pleased that this matter has been resolved properly in accordance with the law. There was no basis upon which his legal representatives should have brought that process into question.