George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Reynolds, Australia's national terrorism public alert system informs the public about the risk of terrorist incidents occurring. It is an important mechanism to keep the public informed of the terrorist threat facing Australia and the level from time to time of that threat. As the Director-General of ASIO said recently:

The security environment today is becoming more complex since I was appointed as director-general of security in 2009 …

For that reason, and in that context, the Australian government is currently reviewing the alert system, drawing on the advice of agencies to ensure that the gradations and descriptors are as precise as possible in the complex national security environment in which we now live.