Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on action the government is taking to protect Australians from the threat of foreign fighters?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bowman for his question and his interest in these issues. As citizens of a peaceful democracy, Australians are naturally reluctant to reach out to overseas conflicts but sometimes—as we have sadly discovered—these conflicts reach out to us. There are at least 60 Australians we know of fighting with terrorist groups in the Middle East. There are at least hundred Australians we know of supporting those terrorist groups with recruitment or financing. At least 60 Australians have had their passports cancelled to prevent them from going overseas to fight with terrorist groups.

The ISIL death cult has declared war on the world, as its various spokesmen love to repeat. Last month a radicalised fanatic tried to murder two policemen here in Victoria. Overnight, it seems, a radicalised fanatic has killed a soldier in Canada—apparently trying to replicate the terrorist execution on the streets of London a couple of years ago. I can inform the House that today I spoke with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to express our solidarity with Canada as we stand against this worldwide terrorist threat.

The government has committed a further $630 million to strengthen our security agencies, and we have introduced foreign fighters legislation to make it easier to keep returning terrorists in jail. I welcome the report of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and Security and thank its chairman and its deputy chairman, the members for Wannon and Holt, for their work. The government will adopt all 37 of its recommendations, particularly the last one that the parliament pass the amended bill. I hope that will happen in this sitting fortnight.

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his steady and consistent support on national security. We disagree on many things, and I dare say our disagreement will be evident again in 36 seconds time; but on national security it is best that the government and the opposition stand shoulder-to-shoulder together, as we have thus far. I have three key messages for the Australian people: firstly, the government will do everything we reasonably can to keep Australians safe; secondly, our efforts are directed against terrorism, not religion; and thirdly, people should live their lives normally because the terrorists' objective is to scare us out of being ourselves.