Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I present the following reports: Review of administration and expenditure No. 17 (2017-2018)—Australian Intelligence Agencies; Review of the re-listing of al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent, Islamic State in Libya and Islamic State Sinai Province under the Criminal Code.

Reports made parliamentary papers in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—I rise today to present two reports. The first is a report by a statement of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security for the review of regulations relisting four organisations as terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code Act 1995. The relisted organisations considered in this review are al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent, Islamic State in Libya and Islamic State Sinai Province.

Regulations that specify an organisation as a terrorist organisation cease to have an effect on the third anniversary of the day on which they take effect. Organisations can be relisted provided the minister is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the organisation continues to directly or indirectly engage in terrorism or advocate the doing of a terrorist act. These organisations were last listed on 26 and 29 November 2016, and the regulations to relist them were tabled in the parliament on 11 November 2019.

The committee's review examines the minister's decision to relist these organisations. Section 102.1A of the Criminal Code provides that the committee may review a regulation which lists or relists an organisation as a terrorist organisation and report its comments and recommendations to each house of the parliament before the end of the applicable 15-sitting-day disallowance period. This statement serves this purpose and is being presented within the required period.

In determining whether the regulations relisting these four organisation should be supported, the committee reviewed the merits of each relisting in accordance with the Minister for Home Affairs' explanatory statement, ASIO's statement of reasons for each organisation and other publicly available information, including submissions received by Dr Tony Murney and Mr Dominic Wy Kanak. These submissions provide reflections on and question the applicability of the listing and relisting process, which remain considerations of the committee for this and all future reviews.

In its deliberations, the committee determined that al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula is still an active affiliate of al-Qa'ida. It subscribes to al-Qa'ida's Sunni Islamist extremist ideology, which promotes violence and is strongly anti-Western. While no known attacks have killed or injured Australian citizens, al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula remains committed to conducting and encouraging others to undertake terrorist attacks against Western targets, which includes Australian interests.

Also an active affiliate of al-Qa'ida, al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent's objectives are to prepare for military jihad against their enemies, to liberate Muslim lands now ruled by non-Muslims and to revive the Islamic caliphate. The committee considers al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent a threat to Australian citizens due to their anti-Western ideology and confirmed threats made against an Australian Navy vessel.

Islamic State in Libya is an active affiliate of Islamic State which promotes extreme violence against those who do not agree with its interpretation of Islam. Islamic State in Libya has issued statements threatening Westerners and Western interests in general, including the US and its allies, of which Australia is one.

Islamic State Sinai Province, also an active affiliate of Islamic State, adheres to global jihadist ideology, promotes sectarian violence and targets those who do not agree with their interpretations of Islam with extreme violence. This includes the West—in particular the United States, of which Australia is an ally.

These four organisations remain a real threat to Australians and the Australian way of life. There is strong evidence that each has engaged in and continues to engage in terrorist activities that are targeted at countries with Western values such as ours here in Australia.

In examining the evidence that has been provided to the committee and in considering the concerns of submitters, the committee is satisfied with the relisting processes and considers that they have been followed appropriately for these four organisations. The committee therefore supports the relisting of the organisations under section 102.1A of the Criminal Code in order to protect Australians and Australians' interests and finds no reason to disallow the regulations.

I now turn to the report of the committee's Review of administration and expenditureNo. 17 (2017-2018)—Australian intelligence agencies. The Intelligence Services Act requires the committee to conduct annual administration and expenditure reviews of the six agencies which comprise the Australian intelligence community, namely: the Office of National Intelligence, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, the Australian Signals Directorate, the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation and the Defence Intelligence Organisation.

Each year the committee discharges this responsibility by examining agencies' financial performance and the budgetary framework within which they operate. We also consider administration matters such as the strategic direction and organisational structure of each agency, their human resource and performance management, the public accountability and public relations of each agency, and legislative changes impacting their operation and litigation matters.

Our review of the 2017-18 financial year found that all six agencies managed their administration and expenditure appropriately in a period of significant change arising from the partial implementation of the 2017 Independent Intelligence Review and the evolving security and technological environment in which the intelligence community now operates.

Throughout the reporting period, to varying degrees all agencies were reviewing and reforming their strategic priorities, technical capabilities and organisational structures to ensure they remained relevant and highly effective into the future.

The intelligence community is also expanding. All agencies reported larger workforces and slightly lower separation rates for the reporting period, and some agencies noted plans for further recruitment. With an expanding workforce, training and development remains a shared focus across agencies.

This has led the committee to recommend that the Australian government ensure the newly-formed Office of National Intelligence is adequately resourced to facilitate national intelligence community-wide learning and development programs as part of its enterprise management mandate. We think that community-wide training and development programs have the potential to increase understanding and connections between agencies, enhance staff mobility, reinforce fundamental skills and deliver cost efficiencies. We'd like to see training focused on enhancing leadership, fostering a shared understanding of the community, increased staff mobility across agencies, and strengthening fundamental skills and capabilities.

We also recommend that the Australian government review the application of the efficiency dividend to the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and the Office of National Intelligence with a view to safeguarding their operational budgets.

If the efficiency dividend continues to be applied, the committee would like to see the funding of other intelligence agencies deliver sufficient budget certainty to sustain their operations in a changing environment. We will continue to monitor this issue in our future reviews of the administration and expenditure of Australian intelligence agencies. With that, I commend this report to the House. Thank you.