Jo Lindgren (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Acting Leader of the Government in the Senate and the Attorney-General, Senator Brandis. Would the Attorney-General advise the Senate how the government is working to keep Australians safe and secure?

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

Thank you very much indeed for your first question, Senator Lindgren. I wonder if I could crave the indulgence of the Senate just for a few moments to welcome Senator Jo Lindgren to the Senate. Senator Jo Lindgren is of course the great-niece of the great Neville Bonner, who joined this chamber as a Liberal senator from Queensland some 45 years ago. Senator Lindgren, both Senator Ian Macdonald and I knew your great-uncle. I cannot tell you how delighted he would be to see a member of his family take a seat in this chamber.

Honourable senators: Hear, hear!

Senator Lindgren, you enter the Senate at a time when the terrorist threat to Australia has never been higher. The government is already taking strong action to keep Australians safe. We have reformed and will continue to reform our national security legislation. We have provided $1.33 billion in additional funding for security and law enforcement agencies. We will continue to do everything we can to ensure that those agencies have all the powers and the tools that they need to combat the growing terrorist threat to this country.

To that end, the government will shortly introduce legislation to amend the Citizenship Act to ensure that dual nationals who engage in terrorism will lose their Australian citizenship. Those new powers will give us a vital additional tool to combat the growing terrorist threat to this country. Our overriding objective, Senator Lindgren—and it is an objective shared by all senators on the side of the chamber, and I know by all senators on the opposition benches as well—is to keep our country safe. I welcome the fact that the Australian Labor Party has indicated that it intends to support our measures to strip terrorists who hold dual citizenship of their Australian citizenship so long as the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness is observed.

Jo Lindgren (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question: can the Attorney-General tell the Senate about the success of Australia's Regional Summit to Counter Violent Extremism which was held in Sydney last week?

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

Yes, Senator Lindgren, I can. That summit, which followed on the heels of the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism in February, was directed to the issues of countering terrorist propaganda and radicalisation. It was opened by the Prime Minister. It was attended by, among others, the foreign minister and by senior representatives of the opposition, including Ms Plibersek and Mr Anthony Byrne. Delegates from 24 nations attended, including all of our significant regional partners, along with observers including Iraq and the European Union. The private sector, including the technology sector, in particular Twitter and Facebook, were well represented and played an active role. There was large representation from civil society groups. I can tell you, Senator Lindgren, the resounding feedback was that the summit was a historic event. Regional leaders acknowledged and thanked Australia for taking a regional lead in that regard.

Jo Lindgren (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the Attorney-General inform the Senate about the tangible outcomes coming from the regional summit?

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

Yes, indeed I can, Senator Lindgren. It was very important to us that there not merely be the expression of worthy sentiments, but that there should be tangible outcomes—and there were. Ahead of the UN General Assembly's meeting in September of this year, the summit resolved on certain practical measures, including developing a regional network of civil society groups to foster partnerships; better use of national and regional leaders to reach target audiences; a regional guide for government and civil society on effective engagement with the private sector; a regional best practice guide to develop responses to inhibit the dissemination of terrorist propaganda; a compendium of regional counter-narratives to amplify effective messages to counter the terrorist narrative; and enhancement of our respective communities' capacities to challenge terrorist propaganda. This is a partnership among the nations in the region, which Australia is leading.