Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

I can inform the Senate and Senator Fawcett that Australia is reluctant to reach out to faraway conflicts, but this terrorist violence has reached out to us. It must be resisted at home and abroad. Recent attacks in Australia and elsewhere around the world show that no country is immune from the threat of terrorism. There are at least 90 Australians fighting with Daesh and other terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria, and another 140 or so supporting these extremists. The Daesh cult is ideologically anti-Western and propagates a virulent anti-Western message. International efforts to disrupt and ultimately defeat Daesh are as much a matter of domestic security as a matter of international security. As part of a coalition of some 60 countries, Australia will be an important partner in the process. (Time expired)