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

My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I ask the minister to update the House on what the government is doing at home and overseas to starve—let me emphasise it—starve terrorists of the financial and logistic support that they require to commit their atrocities?

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Berowra for his interest in this issue of national importance, because Australia is making a significant contribution to international efforts to combat terrorism, particularly the terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, and to starve them of the fighters and the funds and the logistics support that they need for their atrocities. We are attacking terrorism at its source. We are making progress. Australian fighter jets recently conducted a successful strike in Anbar Province in Iraq, killing up to 15 Daesh fighters, including a senior Daesh commander, thereby weakening Daesh's ability to plan and carry out attacks in that region and beyond. We are choking terrorist groups of the funding and resource support that they need for their violent campaigns. We are cooperating with countries in our region to boost collective efforts to track and block terrorist financing. Indeed, in November we will be co-hosting with Indonesia the first counter-terrorism financing summit in our region. We have listed 94 people and entities from Australia and around the world for financial sanctions, making it a serious crime, punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, for any person who provides any form of material support for terrorism activities.

Today I have listed Australian national Mostafa Mahamed, also known as Mostafa Farag, for targeted financial sanctions. This follows my previous listings of other Australian terrorists Neil Prakash, Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar. Farag occupies a senior leadership position in al-Nusra Front, also known as Jabhat al-Nusra, listed as a terrorist organisation under Australia's Criminal Code and the UN sanctions regime. Al-Nusra Front is responsible for multiple vehicle suicide bombings in Syria, targeting innocent civilians and reportedly killing thousands of people. Farag is the highest ranking Australian within al-Nusra Front and has been described as a 'magnet' for foreign fighters. He has facilitated violent terrorist acts and through social media has solicited funding and lured vulnerable young people, including from Australia, to become terrorist fighters. Listing Farag sends the strongest possible message to anyone who recruits for or supports terrorist organisations that the coalition government will do everything in our power to combat the threat of terrorism and to keep our people safe both at home and abroad.