Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I refer the minister to recent ISIL inspired terrorist attacks in Europe. Will the minister advise the House on how the government is working with partner countries to ensure Australians who travel overseas are as safe as possible?

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

I thank the member for La Trobe for his question. I acknowledge his experience in law enforcement, including work in counterterrorism. I can inform the House that in Germany yesterday police arrested three men, with forged Syrian passports, suspected of being part of an ISIL sleeper cell. According to the German interior minister, these men are believed to have used the same migrant-trafficking networks as the terrorists who carried out the deadly attacks in Paris last November that killed 130 people and injured hundreds more, including a young Australian. These arrests came as French authorities charged three women with terror offences following a foiled attack on a Paris train station last week. The women, aged 39, 23 and 19, are suspected of belonging to an extremist female commando unit that has been inspired by ISIL.

Over the last year we have witnessed a wave of terror attacks across Europe directed and inspired by ISIL. Terror threat warnings in France, Germany and Belgium are at an all-time high. With terrorists using established people-smuggling routes into Europe to plan and commit attacks and with around 50,000 Australians in Europe at any one time we have an enormous stake in the success of European efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism. Last week I met with my counterpart foreign ministers in Germany, Belgium, the European Union and the UK. At each meeting it was agreed to enhance existing counterterrorism cooperation with a particular focus on border protection, law enforcement collaboration and intelligence sharing. I provided our European partners with details of Australia's experiences and the coalition government's responses, including legislative reforms, to the rising terror threat from ISIL and other extremist groups.

The Australian government is sending a representative to work in the London based counter-ISIL communications cell, which was set up to counter the threat posed by ISIL's online presence. We are also supporting the establishment of a new countering violent extremism unit with the Commonwealth nations. This cooperation complements our work in South-East Asia. In fact, we are setting up a joint initiative with the United Kingdom in Jakarta to strengthen regional counterterrorism and law enforcement agencies.

The coalition government, supported by the opposition, is committed to working with partners around the world to counter the threat posed by terrorism and to keep Australians safe, both at home and abroad, to ensure that Australians can not only travel but also remain in Australia as safely as possible.