Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Counterterrorism. Will the minister update the House on Australia's counterterrorism and law enforcement cooperation with the United States? Why is this cooperation vital in keeping our country safe and secure?

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

I thank the member for Robertson for that question and the interest that she takes in law enforcement matters here in Australia. As has been noted by other speakers today, the friendship between the United States and Australia is of very long standing; our alliance is founded on shared values; and, of course, very importantly, it is founded on practical cooperation as well. That collaboration has never been more important in an era of a decreasing national security environment and an increase in the terror threats that both countries face. Just as we have worked diligently to deal with the terror threat here at home, a vital part of our response has been to work collaboratively with our international partners on doing everything we can to shape the global response. Australia has a range of arrangements in place that bring together our law enforcement community, intelligence community and other partners to help us deal with the terror threat.

Australia and the United States have, for many years, worked closely on this cooperation, and we greatly value our counterterrorism and intelligence relationships. Since the devastating attacks in New York on 9/11, Australia and the United States have continued to work side by side to destroy terror at its source, in Afghanistan and in the Middle East, and also to seek out and disrupt terrorist networks in our own countries and in the wider world also. This cooperation covers a wide array of efforts, including information-sharing and close operational coordination. In South-East Asia, a region that is so vital to Australia's national security, our American partners look to us to lead the counterterrorism efforts, and we do it exceptionally well. I congratulate our agencies on the strong relationships that they have managed to build in the region.

In addition, this government has enabled the Australian Federal Police to expand and deepen our partnership with US law enforcement agencies to help tackle the threat to Australia of organised crime—specifically, gun smuggling, drug smuggling, outlaw motorcycle gangs, money-laundering and cybercrime. In America, the AFP play a significant role in the exchange of criminal intelligence with partners including the FBI, the National Counterterrorism Centre and the US departments of Justice and Homeland Security. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission has deployed analysts to fight cybercrime and money-laundering, through the Drug Enforcement Administration, and to the United States' National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force. In addition, AUSTRAC, our financial intelligence agency, works closely with the US Internal Revenue Service on regulatory, strategic and operational intelligence. It is paramount that Australia and America continue this close cooperation.

I congratulate the foreign minister; Ambassador Joe Hockey; and our other diplomats for the work they did, with both President-elect Trump's campaign and Secretary Clinton's campaign, to make sure that Australia's interests were going to be protected regardless of what the election result was. I look forward to our enduring law enforcement cooperation continuing under the Trump administration.