James Paterson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Congratulations, Mr President. My question is to the Attorney-General, Senator Cash. Can the Attorney-General update the Senate on how the Liberal and Nationals government is equipping our law enforcement and security agencies with the resources they need to keep Australians safe from violent extremism?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I also offer you my congratulations on your election to your new role. I also acknowledge Senator Paterson's role as the head of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. In answering this question, I also acknowledge the recent death of the UK Conservative MP Sir David Amess in a terrorist attack.

Without a doubt, a fundamental responsibility of the coalition government is to keep Australia and Australians safe, to protect our way of life, our freedoms and our values. Our government will continue to combat and keep Australians safe from terrorism and from violent extremism, regardless of the ideology behind it. We may be in the middle, as we know, of a global pandemic, but the threat of terrorism remains in Australia, as it does around the world. Since the national terrorism threat was raised to 'probable' in September 2014, there have been nine attacks and 21 major disruption operations in response to imminent attacks that were being planned on Australians. There have been 143 people now charged as a result of 70 counterterrorism operations since 2014, and there are currently 29 people before the courts for terrorism related offences.

To respond to these threats, the government has now passed 25 tranches of national security legislation. As I said, a fundamental responsibility of the coalition government is to keep Australia and Australians safe. The legislation that we have passed is helping provide security agencies with the tools and the legal framework that is necessary to protect Australia but also to combat new attempts and methods of violent extremism.

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Paterson, a supplementary question?

James Paterson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How is the increased investment from the government in our law enforcement and security agencies helping to keep Australia and Australians safe from emerging threats?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In terms of emerging threats, the digital world is now the new frontier that organised crime, terrorists and state-sponsored actors are using to threaten Australia and to threaten our way of life. The government is investing almost $1.7 billion, through our Cyber Security Strategy, to position Australia to meet these evolving threats and to improve capabilities to identify and disrupt cybersecurity threats. In April this year, the foreign minister released the International Cyber and Critical Technology Engagement Strategy, to ensure we can develop global cyber-resilience and tackle issues of cross-border cyberthreats that are growing in intensity and in frequency. As the foreign minister knows, by working with our national partners and investing in our own capabilities, we can work to both minimise and disrupt cybersecurity threats by these organisations.

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Paterson, a second supplementary question?

James Paterson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How will the AUKUS trilateral agreement help our law enforcement and security agencies deepen cooperation with our security partners to protect Australians and our way of life?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The AUKUS partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA builds on our nation's close ties but it will also enable us to deepen cooperation on a range of emerging security matters. AUKUS will build on Australia's already significant network of international partnerships, including with ASEAN, our Pacific family, the Five Eyes, the Quad and other like-minded partners within our region. This in turn will help our security and law enforcement agencies to develop and enhance our capabilities—initially in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies. By partnering with our allies we can continue to protect Australians and our way of life through continuing prosperity and security in our region, and by ensuring our agencies are at the forefront of new technology. Again, our fundamental priority is keeping Australia and Australians safe.