David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Attorney-General, Senator Brandis. Can the Attorney-General update the Senate on the disrupted terrorism plot last week and what the government is doing to keep Australians safe?

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

Thank you, Senator Bushby. That of course is a very important question. I can advise the Senate that, as has been reported, last week our law enforcement and intelligence agencies disrupted what AFP Deputy Commissioner Mike Phelan described as 'one of the most sophisticated plots that has ever been attempted on Australian soil'. On 3 August 2017, two men—a 49-year-old man from Lakemba and a 32-year-old man from Punchbowl—were charged with two counts of acts done in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act, contrary to section 101.6 of the Criminal Code, the maximum penalty for which, by the way, is life imprisonment.

The plot, it will be alleged, was to use an improvised device to bring down an aircraft in Australia. It would have potentially been the deadliest terrorist attack ever conducted against Australians, with the greatest potential loss of life from any single terrorist attack since 9/11. It is a stark reminder that, even as ISIL loses ground in Syria and Iraq, and as the so-called caliphate collapses, the threat from terrorism at home and overseas continues to evolve. The successful disruption of this plot is testament to the professionalism of our intelligence agencies and of state and Commonwealth law enforcement, and it is a consequence, in part, of the close cooperation of our domestic and international partners. As I have often said, it is the first duty of government to keep its citizens safe. This government has a proven track record of providing our agencies with the resources and the legal powers they need to protect our community from terrorism.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bushby, a supplementary question.

David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the Attorney-General explain how the coalition government's legislative reforms have been keeping Australians safe?

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

Since 2014 the government has embarked on the most significant legislative reform in this area in a generation. I want to direct to the attention of honourable senators the remarks of Deputy Commissioner Phelan when he announced the charging of the two men to whom I have referred. He said, 'We have used nearly every counterterrorism power that is available under Commonwealth and New South Wales legislation.' He went on to say, 'We've seen over the last few years, in particular, eight tranches of legislation that have been introduced by the government'—that is, the Commonwealth government—'and let me tell you that some of that legislation that was brought in to us was what we used to make this investigation get to the stage where it did. We went from not much to the stage where we were able to charge people with admissible evidence in relation to a very significant terrorist offence, so that has gone a long way to us being able to do what we did.' (Time expired)

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bushby, a final supplementary question.

David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How has the government been working with our international partners to ensure our national and regional security?

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

The government works, in particular through its intelligence agencies and its law enforcement agencies, with counterpart or partner agencies both among the Five Eyes community and with regional partners. At the G20 summit in Hamburg recently, it was the Prime Minister, Mr Turnbull, who led the discussion on the issue of counterterrorism generally and on the particular issue of the challenges posed to investigations by ubiquitous encryption. As well, last month I attended the Five Eyes national security conference in Ottawa, and, the weekend before last, I co-hosted with my Indonesian counterpart minister the first subregional meeting on foreign terrorist fighters and cross-border terrorism. We continue to work internationally and regionally in order to address this menace.