Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I present the report of the committee entitled Review of the re-listing of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Jamiat ul-Ansar (JuA), and Al-Aq’ida in Iraq (AQI) and move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I would normally seek leave to incorporate the tabling speech but, as I understand it, the opposition is not allowing incorporations, so I will speak to the motion.

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I have pleasure in presenting the committee’s report entitled Review of the re-listing of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Jamiat ul-Ansar (JuA), and Al-Aq’ida in Iraq (AQI).

The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) was initially listed as a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code Act in 2002 following their listing by the United Nations Security Council. The committee first considered the listing of the ASG in 2004. The ASG was relisted on 5 November 2004 and on 1 November 2006. This is the ASG’s third relisting.

Jamiat ul-Ansar was originally listed in 2002 under the Criminal Code Act 1995 following their listing by the United Nations Security Council. Once this requirement for listing was removed in March 2004, the JuA was relisted in 2004 and 2007 under the amended Criminal Code Act 1995. This is the third relisting of JuA.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq was previously listed in 2007 under the name Tanzim Qa’idat al-Jihad fi Biiad al-Rafidayn. I will just refer to it as TQJBR. Prior to this TQJBR was first listed in 2005. This will be the second relisting since the initial listing in 2005.

The regulations were signed by the Governor-General on 31 October 2008. They were then tabled in the House of Representatives and the Senate on 10 November 2008. The disallowance period of 15 sitting days for the committee’s review of the listing began from the date of the tabling. Therefore, the committee was required to report to the parliament by Monday, 9 February 2008. The tabling of this report had to be postponed until today, 12 February due to the Victorian bushfire disaster and the subsequent adjournment of parliament on 9 and 10 February.

Notice of the inquiry was placed on the committee’s website. No submissions were received from the public. Representatives of the Attorney-General’s Department and ASIO attended a private hearing on the listings.

The committee heard evidence that each of these three organisations continues to engage in, and offer support for, terrorist acts. I will take this opportunity to outline some of the acts they have committed. The committee were informed of nine significant attacks carried out by the Abu Sayyaf Group within the Philippines since 2000. The group engages in kidnapping for ransom, and in April 2007 seven local workers on the southern Philippine island of Jolo were kidnapped and later beheaded after ransom demands were not met. Information provided to the committee by ASIO indicates that, whilst Philippines and United States military operations have ‘fragmented’ the ASG, they are still considered to be a significant threat. The committee acknowledges that the group have an ability to destabilise the southern Philippines and the fragile peace process there. This may pose a threat to Australian interests in the Philippines and overall regional stability.

Jamiat ul-Ansar has been involved in a number of terrorist activities over the past nine years, including hijacking, bombings, abductions and training. In 2002 JuA member Ahmed Omar Sheikh was convicted of the abduction and beheading of US journalist Daniel Pearl. JuA cooperates with other Islamic groups operating in Afghanistan, Kashmir and Pakistan and is a member of the United Jihad, an overarching organisation aimed at coordinating the strategies and communications of the various jihadi groups. It is clear to the committee that JuA is deeply entrenched within the global jihadi movement. Jamiat ul-Ansar has also been closely linked with the al-Qaeda networks and has provided training and religious instruction to other associated terrorist organisations and individual jihadists from around the world.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq has an extensive history of terrorist attacks. The committee’s report refers to a comprehensive list of significant attacks for which responsibility has been claimed by, or reliably attributed to, AQI. AQI claimed responsibility for an attack against an Australian Defence Force convoy in Baghdad on 25 October 2004 and an attack near the Australian Embassy in Baghdad on 19 January 2005. Although there have been no known recent attacks at or near ADF personnel or equipment, it is clear that Australians in Iraq are in danger of attack by elements of AQI. The committee received evidence that AQI specifically include children in their suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attacks. They are a brutal and committed terrorist organisation and the committee fully supports their listing as such under the Criminal Code.

I will take this opportunity to thank my fellow committee members for their work in reviewing these and other terrorist organisations. Lastly, I would like to thank the secretariat of the committee. I commend the report to the Senate.

Question agreed to.