Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Justice.

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There will be silence on my right! The member for Mitchell will desist!

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Will the minister inform the House what measures federal law enforcement agencies are currently taking to secure Australians from the threat of extremists? What can the government do to give our law enforcement agencies the best chance of combating this threat?

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Deakin for that question. He, like me, is proud to be part of a government that this week allocated $64 million to enhance the ability of federal law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism. There is no more important priority for this government than to keep the Australian people safe. The $64 million investment is part of a broad-ranging strategy that draws in all of the federal law enforcement community, and other agencies beyond the agencies we discussed in the House yesterday will also play a very significant role.

The Australian Crime Commission has been operating jointly with its national security partners to support the domestic understanding of Middle Eastern conflicts. Over the past 12 months, it has conducted 40 coercive hearings to support partner agencies, and these examinations have resulted in an enhanced understanding of Australians likely to travel offshore to engage in conflicts and about their travel patterns and financing. The ACC employs a range of other collection tools which deliver intelligence on serious and organised crime and also provide current intelligence on individuals and businesses involved in support of the conflict in the Middle East.

AUSTRAC, the agency responsible for detecting money laundering and preventing terrorism financing, will also play a very significant role. It works with partner agencies and industry sectors to identify patterns of suspicious activity, which contributes to the national understanding of terrorism financing, and it will particularly target terrorism financing—money flowing from Australia to fund conflicts in the Middle East. If people are found to have been engaged in terrorism financing, they will face penalties in the Criminal Code of 15 years to life imprisonment. If they are found to have used a false identity to conduct a transaction, they can face up to two years of imprisonment.

Of course, as I outlined to the House yesterday, the Australian Federal Police will continue to play a very significant role in investigating people who have or intend to travel to conflicts in Iraq or Syria. They are working very closely with their state and territory colleagues through the joint counterterrorism task forces.

Anyone familiar with the requirements of modern law enforcement understands that access to data remains a vitally important tool. The value of telecommunications data in protecting public safety is indisputable. It is no exaggeration to say that it is central to virtually every organised crime, counterespionage, cybersecurity and counterterrorism investigation, and it is also vital in every investigation into a serious crime, such as murder, rape or kidnapping. This is why this government seeks to retain this data for two years, and it is going to be a vital element in our strategy moving forward in keeping Australia safe.