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

I table the Prime Minister's statement on national security and seek leave to move motions relating to the document.

Leave granted.

by leave—I move that a motion to take note of the document be considered for not more than 60 minutes.

Question agreed to.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

Earlier today, the Prime Minister made a statement to the other place on national security. The considered statement highlights the duty of government and the grave circumstances the world community faces today because of the emergence of ISIL, an organisation that can simply be described as a terrorist organisation and one which is engaged in acts of barbarism and brutality unparalleled in recent times. Regrettably, Australia is not immune. I congratulate the Prime Minister on his leadership in these difficult times. Australians overwhelmingly appreciate his decisive leadership, as they appreciate the Leader of the Opposition's bipartisan support.

In response to the circumstances we confront, the Prime Minister told the other place:

Regrettably, for some time to come, the delicate balance between freedom and security may have to shift. There may be more restrictions on some so that there can be more protection for others. After all, the most basic freedom of all is the freedom to walk the streets unharmed and to sleep safe in our beds at night.

Creating new offences that are harder to beat on a technicality may be a small price to pay for saving lives and maintaining the social fabric of an open, free and multicultural nation.

That applies to this place as well—namely, the parliament—and I want to briefly acknowledge the work of you, Mr President, and that of Madam Speaker in reassessing the security needs of those who work in this place and those who visit it.

The fact that 40 nations are joining to fight ISIL tells us something. They are joined in fighting a movement that justifies the beheadings, crucifixions, mass executions, ethnic cleansing, rapes and sexual slavery that have taken place in every town and city they have captured. To do such evil, and to revel in doing such evil, is simply unprecedented. This revolting barbarity has regrettably found support in our midst and as a result we need to respond. Time is limited; other senators reasonably wish to comment. I simply commend the statement to the Senate and to the Australian people.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of the Prime Minister's statement on national security—a statement which follows troubling events last week when law enforcement agencies moved to foil a suspected terrorist act in Australia. Last week more than 800 police and security personnel across Sydney and Brisbane raided homes, executed search warrants and arrested a number of individuals.

The allegations about what was being planned are truly horrifying but the events of last week should also give us a sense of reassurance. Australians should be reassured by the skills and capabilities of our security and law enforcement agencies—agencies which have a strong track record in tackling threats of terrorism before innocent people are harmed. Before last week's action, four major terrorist attacks on Australian soil have been disrupted since 2003, with participants prosecuted, convicted and jailed. Labor has confidence in the ability of our security agencies to keep Australians safe.

As Labor's leader in the Senate, I thank the Australian Defence Force personnel who are currently pre-deployed to the United Arab Emirates. Those personnel enjoy the full support of the Australian Labor Party and the Australian community as they prepare to assist the Iraqi Army and the Kurdish Peshmerga in their fight against IS. I also wish to extend our thanks to their families who remain at home—partners, children, parents and friends—who must now endure nervous weeks and months as their loved ones head into harm's way. Australian personnel are being asked to enter a very dangerous situation and there are significant risks involved in any potential mission. We know that the women and men of our ADF will undertake their mission with their usual professionalism, termination and dedication, and they will be in the thoughts of all of us until they are safely returned home.

As I have previously stated in this place, Labor's support for this deployment reflects a number of motivating factors. We believe Australia should respond effectively to help relieve humanitarian crises and prevent genocide. Australia has accepted the responsibility of taking part in international action to protect the innocent and honourable in the past.

I have mentioned before in this place our participation in missions in places like Cambodia, Rwanda, Somalia and East Timor , where Australia has acted with international partners to protect populations at risk of violence and bloodshed. We now face a situation in Iraq where local populations face the risk of terrible atrocities at the hands of IS. Labor believes these circumstances warrant Australia's participation in action to prevent mass atrocities in Iraq.

An other important factor motivating our support for this action is that it is being done in cooperation with the Iraqi government. We believe that for stability in Iraq there needs to be a democratic government that provides cohesion and unity. It needs to be a government that governs for all Iraqis, that rejects sectarianism and that protects minority groups. For these reasons — and subject to the conditions that the o pposition l eader , Mr Shorten , has outlined in the other place —La bor supports th e provision of air support and s pecial f orces troops in training and advisory roles in Iraq.

This nation is a good global citizen and, as such, Australia has a responsibility to act with others to protect vulnerable civilians from genocide, murder, rape, forced marriage, forced conversion and other crimes. The new unity government in Iraq has sought assistance to prevent further atrocities occurring. We will be participating in supporting them and helping this Iraqi government as part of coalition of many nations from the region and around the world.

With this assistance, it is our hope that the government of Iraq will be able to defeat the threat posed by IS and, ultimately, to provide the Iraqi people with the peace and stability that has eluded them for so long. I stress again that Australia's military involvement in Iraq should only continue as long as it is necessary. As Mr Shorten said today, we want Australian military personnel to carry out a clearly defined mission in Iraq, at the request of the Iraqi government, and then come home safely.

An important dimension to this crisis is the significant number of refugees and internally displaced people fleeing the conflicts in Iraq and Syria. Labor believes Australia should be doing more to help address this refugee crisis. In government we increased the annual intake under Australia's humanitarian refugee program to 20,000 places. The government has cut the intake to 13,750 places. As our foreign affairs spokesperson, Ms Plibersek, has stated, Labor believes that the intake of 4,400 refugees from Iraq and Syria, which the government has announced, should be in addition to the existing 13,750 places. This is the appropriate thing to do given the sheer number of people who are fleeing violence and persecution.

I turn, now, to anti-terrorism legislation. In his statement in the other place, and tabled today, the Prime Minister has referred to legislation to strengthen the ability of our law enforcement and security agencies to tackle terrorism. There is legislation already in the parliament dealing with the powers of the security agencies. This is due to be debated in the Senate in coming days.

I note that the Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security made several recommendations to improve this legislation and I am pleased that the government has accepted these recommendations. The Prime Minister has also foreshadowed new legislation to be introduced shortly to create new terrorist offences and to extend existing powers to monitor or detain terror suspects. As our shadow Attorney-General has stated, Labor supports our intelligence and law enforcement agencies having the necessary powers to deal with the threat of terrorist attacks. We will consider the detail of the new legislation when it is introduced to parliament.

A fundamental responsibility of government is to protect the safety of the country's citizens. To ensure we live in a safe community we also need to ensure we form a cohesive and united multicultural community. Political leaders not only have a responsibility to protect the safety of citizens and the security of the nation. We have that responsibility but we also have a responsibility to uphold Australia's values of tolerance, diversity and inclusion.

I was struck by the comments of a Muslim boy interviewed on the ACT 7:30 program last Friday 19 September. He was asked by the reporter what he would like to say to the program's viewers. He responded, 'Well, I'd like to say that I'm an Australian and I'm not a terrorist.' No child in this country should feel that they are suspected of being a terrorist. This boy is just one of nearly half a million Muslim Australians. They are valued members of our community. They deserve the same respect and they are entitled to the same freedoms as every other Australian.

I reiterate Mr Shorten's comments in the other place:

We should never make the millions of Australians, or the people who have become Australians—people of every nation and every faith—feel less safe or less welcome. We will not overcome hatred with hatred, we will not overcome intolerance by being intolerant.

He went on to say that multiculturalism is one of the nation's greatest gifts.

In closing, I make the following observation.    Australia should remain focused on its core objectives of protecting Iraqis from ISIL and ensuring that Australians fighting with ISIL are not a threat to Australia. The government should ensure that we continue to work with our coalition partners. It should encourage those partners from within the region to take as great a share of the responsibility as possible.

Australia is doing the right thing by supporting the Iraqi government. But any lasting solution to combat this threat and organisations like ISIL, will need to be driven by the government of Iraq and by other nations of the region. While it remains difficult to predict the future course of the conflict in Iraq, it is important for the people of Iraq and the security of that country and the neighbouring region, that IS be defeated.

The ADF is playing an important role in this mission, which we anticipate will bring about a safer and more inclusive Iraq. ADF personnel should know that they are carrying out their mission with the gratitude and support of the Australian people.

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of the Prime Minister's statement to the parliament today on national security. Australian troops have now been deployed to a new war in Iraq. Young men and women have been asked to put their lives on the line for this country. And at the very least, this parliament ought to be able to explain to them why we are doing it.

What is the purpose of this new war in Iraq? Why is it in Australia's best interests to participate in a military engagement in Iraq? For how many years will we be back in the Middle East? Will we be constrained to just being in Iraq, or will this blow over into Syria? What is the long-term plan?

There are no answers to these questions. All we have seen is mission creep. We had the Prime Minister commit Australia to following the United States into a new war in Iraq, blindly following the United States from day one. We were the first country there saying, 'We are with you with the bombing raids, we are the first country to do it,' with no defined objective and no defined statement of what success would look like.

The shift has been immense. First of all, we were going to Iraq to disrupt and destroy ISIL. We were going to destroy ISIL. That has now been changed. Since we have deployed our young men and women, we are now going to disrupt and degrade the ISIL movement. But everybody knows that you cannot disrupt and degrade ISIL if you are only in Iraq because they will retreat from Iraq and regroup in Syria. So you are buying into a conflict that includes at least Syria, if not more countries.

And exactly how are we going to look after our young men and women? Are they going to be like those troops that we committed to Iraq on the basis of a lie in 2003? Are they going to be like our returned soldiers from Afghanistan—many of whom are suffering from post-traumatic stress, not to mention the physical injuries that they incurred. Many of them would be asking the questions: was it worth? What was achieved? What was our long-term objective in Afghanistan? Essentially, in the end the question was: how do we get out of there at any particular time? There was no defined objective.

My point to the parliament today is: what is the link between the Prime Minister's decision to return to war in Iraq and the increased terrorism threat in Australia? I would argue that there is an increased risk of terrorism in Australia because we have followed the United States back into Iraq. I say that based on previous investigations that have been made. Australia did not have an inquiry into why we went into Iraq in 2003. But our police commissioner in 2004, Mick Keelty, said:

… the US-led war in Iraq was a motivating factor for terrorists.

He was, at that time, shouted down by the government of the day and not allowed to continue to prosecute that. Since then the former Director General of MI5, Baroness Manningham-Buller, has said that Britain's involvement in Iraq had also radicalised some young people in Britain who saw its 'involvement in Iraq and in Afghanistan as being an attack upon Islam'. The former head of the Federal Police, Mick Keelty, to his credit, said that in Australia we needed:

… to ensure that the Islamic community was properly engaged and was not marginalised …

That was an incredibly important decision that he took as head of the police. He oversaw an arrangement whereby the Federal Police reached out to the communities in Australia to make people feel included, to have good lines of communication and to make sure that there was no marginalisation or victimisation.

What have we seen in Australia since our Prime Minister committed our troops to Iraq? I will tell you what we have seen. We have seen real victimisation of people just because they are Muslims. That is the fact of the matter. You can see that the word 'evil' has been put on mosques by those people out there who are seeking to cause harm. You see a senior cleric trying to leave the country to attend a religious event overseas only to be held at Sydney airport for a long time and miss his flight. As if that is not going to increase anger and frustration in those communities in Australia who are feeling like they are being victimised and blamed. Why is it that those communities feel like they have to keep on saying that they are not terrorists? We do not ask that of any other community in Australia, to come out and prove themselves time and time again. The fact is, if we want to make Australia safer the best thing to do is to bring all Australians together and not follow the United States into an unwinnable conflict in the Middle East.

We need to make sure that the new Iraqi government is inclusive. We need to de-escalate the sectarian tensions while at the same time make our own community more inclusive. We need to think about tolerance in Australian society. We need to make sure that the people who have broken the law actually face the full force of the law as they deserve to be punished—of course we agree with that—but we do not want fear to take over in this country. I wonder if the people listening felt safer two weeks ago than they feel now. I would argue that there is a sense of fear and anxiety throughout the Australian community because the Prime Minister committed us to a new war in Iraq. The consequence is the radicalisation of people who see the West once more engaged in a war in the Middle East.

I make this point about Syria: anyone who thinks that there is a defined mission in Iraq is quite wrong. The Leader of the Government in the Senate's inability to respond to me today on what Australia will do in relation to Syria makes that point. We have armed militias in Syria. There are people in the Free Syrian Army who have now joined ISIL. There are all kinds of militias who are stealing the weapons of other militias, and frequently they are weapons that have been provided by the United States at other particular times. This is going to be long and horrendous and there is still no statement from the government as to why we are there or how it is in Australia's best interest to be involved with the United States in Iraq without a plan.

I was surprised to hear the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Senator Wong, referring to Mr Shorten's remarks saying that there was a clearly defined objective. There is no clearly defined objective. We have seen mission creep from the start, from what were humanitarian drops of aid, which then became weapons that were being taken in by aircraft and then we got to the deployment of the Super Hornets and the SAS. Far from no boots on the ground, Australian boots are on the ground in Iraq. And far from being humanitarian we are now involved in a war. I do not think that it is reasonable to say to Australians that we are now less vulnerable to terrorism than we were before the Prime Minister committed us to war. That does not make sense.

What we need to do is to recognise that Australia needs to have an independent foreign policy. We need to look at what is in our own best interests, we need to bring our community together at this time and we need to ask the serious questions, and not be silenced by a government and opposition that are choosing to take the same position and to deny the Australian people straight answers to what actually is the end objective of our involvement in a new war in Iraq.

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Palmer United Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the motion before the Senate regarding the Prime Minister's statement on national security and the overseas deployment—again—of members of the Australian Defence force to fight the sharia extremists in the Middle East.

On behalf of the Tasmanian people I acknowledge the bravery, commitment, decency, humanity and professionalism of the Australian forces deployed by this government to fight in Iraq and other Middle East countries. I also acknowledge the courage, love and support those back home have for the troops—the Defence families who wait and pray for the safe return their fathers, sisters, brothers and mothers. They all represent everything good about the Australian people. And as much as they represent the good, the sharia foe stands for pure evil.

Despite the horrific images and evidence of the evil of these sharia extremists which flood our televisions and computer screens there are still those in our community who are innocent to the sharia supporters' intent, motives, capability and threat. There are still those in our communities who do not realise that these thugs and extremists will not stop their acts of terrorism and depravity until their way of life, their culture and their law is imposed on Australia—indeed, on the whole world. There are still those in our community who think they can negotiate peace with these monsters and agree to some of their law and customs.

It is about time we faced the fact that these maniacs and depraved humans will not stop committing their cold-blooded butchery and rapes until every woman in Australia wears a burqa and is subservient to men. These depraved sharia law supporters will not stop until all Australians worship the same way as they do. These thugs will not stop their killing until we bow down before their religious leaders, who will tell us how to live our lives and conduct our business.

Australia is a secular society where we have a clear separation between church and state. There is no religion or religious leader in Australia, or outside Australia, who has the right to implement law. It is unconstitutional and it is for the protection of all Australians that this is the case. Indeed, if any law other than Australian law were recognised or followed—either formally or informally—it would clearly show divided loyalties to our nation and its constitution. And yet we still have Australian citizens who continue to protest, advocate and push to allow a form of sharia law or cultural practice in our country.

It is now time to get rid of this sharia rubbish in Australia. If we are going to send our forces overseas to battle against these fanatical sharia supporters then we also need to get rid of them and their associates on home soil. 'Clean up the rubbish in your own back yard, before you try to clean up the rubbish in others,' is the advice my grandmother gave, and advice we should now follow. We do not want our troops putting their lives on the line overseas only to come back home and find that our government have sold out to the Australian sharia supporters.

I have been criticised by some because I could not properly define what sharia law is. Mr Acting Deputy President, it is not going to come as a shock when I tell you that I am not an Islamic scholar. However I will tell you what I do know about the supporters of sharia. Every major terrorist attack on Western world citizens and Australian citizens—9/11, the Bali bombings, the Boston marathon bombings, recent beheadings and massacres—have all been carried out by supporters of sharia law. If people want more detail on this law, my advice is to google 'sharia'. But be careful: you will see shocking images from overseas, which I do not want repeated in our beautiful nation.

Essentially sharia law is a law made up by men who hate women: it takes away women's rights, attacks equality and treats them like slaves and second-class citizens. Sharia law forces women to wear clothing which covers their face and body, on threat of being beaten or killed. Any form of sharia law in Australia, no matter how small or benign, will mean church and state are no longer separated. Overseas experience shows that under sharia law, religious freedom would be destroyed while an extremist monoculture is established. It will also mean that the death penalty will be imposed on people who criticise or reject the state's official religion and women who are found guilty of adultery. Torture and body mutilation—limb removal—will be state sanctioned for those found guilty of stealing.

Sharia law makes it okay for girls to be denied the same education rights as males and prohibits women from driving. Sharia law makes sport and music illegal. Sharia law makes it okay for the state to kill anyone who disagrees with religious leaders' beliefs and their teachings. It makes it okay for the state to mutilate and torture people who are found guilty of minor crimes like stealing. Sharia law allows men to have four wives—polygamy is unlawful in Australian and should always be unlawful. Sharia law allows men to divorce their wives by saying 'I divorce you' three times—that is not bloody Australian! Sharia law forbids interest on money lending—shall we change the banking industry? Sharia law allows for, and fails to criminalise, the barbaric custom of female genital mutilation.

Each member of this parliament knows the truth in the words I have spoken. Why have those members of this parliament who have put themselves out as the champions of women's rights not supported my call to rid Australia of this evil sharia influence? Why have they turned a blind eye to the sharia atrocities committed on our own home soil?

It is clear there is one question every citizen and politician must answer: do you support sharia law or the people who follow it? If you do support sharia law, then I will say it, and I will continue to say it: get out of Australia! If you oppose it, then welcome.

In closing, I once again call on this Abbott Liberal government to guarantee that this government will properly care for our war veterans on their safe return. The outrageous Australian veteran suicide rate of 30 or more veterans a year for the last decade shows that this Liberal, and also the previous Labor-Green government, have failed to care properly for our veterans after their discharge from our military.

Our veterans should not have to fight the DVA to obtain a gold card. That fight causes more harm, which is unnecessary. That fight causes our veterans to say, 'I'd rather face the Taliban. I'd rather face Australia's enemies, than have to fight with the Department of Veterans' Affairs.' This is a disgusting state of affairs, when it would be cost-neutral or would save Australian taxpayers' money if members of our ADF who were put in harm's way overseas automatically qualified for a gold card. That would be a pretty simple procedure. The industry of doctors and lawyers who assess our veteran's claims for a gold card would not be needed. We would save billions in fees and dozens of veterans' lives each year if the Australian government made, as a right of service, the issue of a gold card to members of the ADF who have served in combat or peace-keeping roles upon their discharge.

If we cannot afford that cost, then do not bloody send them to war in the first place! Do not send them to war! And this is the point I will end on: every government must detail and explain to the Australian public the true cost of war before sending our men and women into harm's way. Sending men and women to war, as many veterans have told me, is more than the cost of just bullets and blankets. And this government has been caught out trying to hide the true cost of war. Perhaps that is why they have used weasel words in trying to describe the action of sending our troops into harm's way.

Mr Abbott and the defence minister should be honest and, like other countries in the western alliance, declare war. Yes, that is right—say the word—'we declare war on the sharia supporters and extremists.' The only reason this government has failed to declare war officially is to try to save money and to deny our troops their full entitlements and care when they return home.

Last, but certainly not least, I pray for the safe return of all the members of our military and salute them and their families' service for this country.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the motion moved by Senator Abetz be agreed to.

Question agreed to.