Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Stoker for what is an extremely important question. The recent events of terrorism in both Paris and Vienna were shocking. The Morrison government is committed to ensuring we do not see similar violence enacted here in Australia. Our first priority is to keep the community safe from those who wish to do us harm. We may be in the middle of a global pandemic but the threat of terrorism remains in Australia, as it does in other places around the world.

Since the national terrorism threat level was raised in September 2014, there have been seven attacks and 18 major disruption operations in response to imminent attacks that were being planned on Australians. There have been 116 people charged as a result of counterterrorism operations. There are currently 22 people before the courts for terrorism related offences.

To respond to this threat, the coalition government has passed 20 tranches of legislation. This legislation includes: to create a presumption against bail and parole for persons who have demonstrated support for or links to terrorist activity; to enable the continued detention of high-risk terrorists and strengthen control orders to minimise the threat to the Australian public; and to establish the temporary exclusion order scheme, which gives law enforcement and security agencies greater control and certainty in managing Australians of interest returning to Australia, including foreign fighters. We have also invested, as a government, more than $61 million to support programs to counter violent extremism. Our laws and arrangements focus on threat and criminality, regardless of ideology. (Time expired)