McCormack, Michael, MP

Mr McCORMACK (Riverina—Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance) (16:01): I rise to speak on the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2014. Certainly this is a very important piece of legislation. The Labor opposition acknowledges that; the coalition recognises that; it is a shame that the member for Melbourne does not. Whilst I appreciate the fact that he made some good points as to our need to safeguard Australia and some accurate points in saying that the acts that we have seen recently in Syria and Iraq have been abhorrent, the fact that he continually goes on the public record and says that our actions in the Middle East are making Australia unsafe and the fact that he talks about it being a conflict in the Middle East that is not ours are troubling. I do hope we do not see what we normally see at the end of these sorts of debates: a try-on, a stunt, a series of amendments holding up the parliament in this important last week of 2014, backed by the member for Denison, who is just suffering from relevance deprivation syndrome. So I do hope that they get on board and that they help the coalition—indeed, help the opposition—to pass this important bill. The measures in this bill will ensure that our intelligence and law enforcement agencies have the capability to operate effectively in the contemporary security environment; in particular, following the rise of IS—call it 'ISIL' or call it 'ISIS'—in the Middle East. The acronym obviously stands for 'Islamic State'; it is not a state, however. A state has a government which looks after its people—governs for the people on behalf of the people by the people. A state does not tear down. A state does not treat some of its citizens to the dreadful acts of barbarism, the death and torture that we have seen all too frequently in recent times coming out of the Middle East. A state builds things. A state looks after infrastructure like hospitals, and health—those sorts of things that are important and that we acknowledge and know are so crucial to a better future. And we, in this chamber, all want a better future for Australia. We, in this chamber, all want a better future for the Middle East. I was there in August. I went there with the Liberal South Australian Senator Sean Edwards, as well as the member for McEwen and the member for Batman, the shadow parliamentary secretary. We learned from our wonderful men and women of the Australian Defence Force just how important it was to have not just a presence camped there and in other important strategic places in the Middle East—not least Afghanistan, though, obviously, we are getting our troops out of there—but certainly to have an ongoing presence in the Middle East, because to have a friend you need to be a friend; that is what the head of defence operations there, Craig Orme, continually said. He should know; he has been there on a number of deployments. He is a person who we all admired before he went there, but certainly we respected him even more from having met him and having been there on engagement in that area and having gone to Afghanistan with him on a Hercules; we saw the respect in which he is held by the American generals and the absolute admiration and respect in which he is held by our own people over there—Army, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy. And to see the job that they are doing is truly a great thing. In relation to the counter-terrorism legislation amendment bill we have before the House, these operational needs have been further identified by our intelligence, defence, border protection and law enforcement agencies following the foreign fighters bill which was passed with support from both sides of the House on 31 October, and amendments to the National Security Legislation Amendment Bill which occurred on 2 October. The bill now before the House will also implement further recommendations made by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security following the parliament passing the foreign fighters bill as referred to previously. The further amendments proposed through this bill are part of the government's comprehensive response to heightened security threats and hostility, both at home and internationally—in particular, to those posed by Australians participating in and supporting extremist groups and foreign conflicts, as we have seen in the Middle East all too often lately. This country is proud of its diverse, multicultural heritage, and there is no region as diverse as Griffith in my electorate of Riverina. I actually call it the cradle of multiculturalism. People get on well there. Ms Rowland: Hear, hear! Mr McCORMACK: I hear 'Hear, hear,' from the member opposite. I appreciate that her electorate in the western suburbs of Sydney is very multicultural and I know the work that she does to engage and to enhance that multicultural aspect, as all good members of parliament should. We will stop at nothing to protect the great diversity in cultures, the great multiculturalism and to ensure the safety of Australian people. We will do that at all costs, as we should. The Australian government will not tolerate any conflict or acts of terrorism which threaten this country's future as a free, fair and multicultural society. The legislative measures provided for within this bill address three key areas which will see amendments made to the Intelligence Services Act 2001 and the Criminal Code 1995. This bill will strengthen the ability of Australia's law enforcement and intelligence agencies to take the necessary and timely actions regarding those Australians who are suspected of being involved in and engaging in terrorism-related activity. This bill will address current legislative limitations which have been identified in the context of recent operations, both domestically and through the ADF's current engagement and activity against the ISIL terrorist group in Iraq. Under the Criminal Code Act 1995 this bill will enhance the control order regime to allow the Australian Federal Police—what a fine organisation—to seek control orders in relation to individuals who may pose security concerns, particularly those who are assisting and facilitating terrorists and foreign fighters. Changes to the Intelligence Services Act 2001 will allow the Australian Secret Intelligence Service to better assist the ADF in support of current and future military operations. Certainly Major General Orme, as he was farewelling one of the contingents who were getting on a Hercules and flying home, told them to recharge, refresh and prepare for the next combat action. We would all love to live in a peaceful world in which Australians were not required to be constantly at the ready to meet our defence obligations and the expectations of other countries such as the United States of America and the United Kingdom. But we need to be ever vigilant. The price of peace is eternal vigilance. Mr Deputy Speaker Scott, in your former ministerial role, you would absolutely have known the relevance and meaning of that. The government has a fundamental responsibility to ensure the safety of the Australian people and the nation. This is, indeed, our highest core value. Our highest fundamental need is to support the safety of our citizens. The current conflicts in Syria and Iraq due to terrorism have vastly changed the threat environment for Australia and the region, and we have seen Australians recently being influenced by extreme terrorist ideologies. I cannot understand, as the member for Melbourne quite rightly also cannot understand, why Australians, particularly young Australians, some of whom are teenagers, feel the need to take on board these terrorist ideologies. I appreciate the fact that the member for Melbourne, the only Greens member in the House of Representatives, pointed that out in his speech. I commend him for pointing that out but I do not commend the Greens for their constant chatter which does not support our ADF's efforts to rid the world of this nuisance, this scourge. I feel as though at times it undermines respect for the ADF among the wider public. It is not necessary, and I would encourage him to think beyond the Greens ideology and appreciate the fact that our ADF are playing a very difficult role. They are, indeed, doing their job because we demand it of them. They are doing their job because we, as members of parliament, send them there to do it. We send them into harm's way. I never fully appreciated that until I became a member of parliament. I always had the absolute highest regard and respect for our military people, because I was born and raised in Wagga Wagga. It is the city of the home of the soldier. There is the Army Recruit Training Centre at the Blamey Barracks at Kapooka. Wagga Wagga is home to the Forest Hill Royal Australian Air Force base, where they do a lot of training—indeed, every Air Force man and woman will always spend part of their career at Wagga Wagga doing important training. And even though Wagga Wagga is a long, long way from the nearest drop of seawater, the Royal Australian Navy has a highly appropriate presence in our city at the Forest Hill RAAF base. It is deeply concerning, as the member for Melbourne quite rightly pointed out, that we have seen Australians influenced by extreme terrorist ideologies. It is a terrible thing. Because of this it is necessary for the government to respond accordingly to address further radicalisation and potential involvement of Australians committing and supporting terrorist activities. The need to combat the threat posed by foreign fighters, including, unbelievably, some 60 Australians—that is a very high number; one is too a high number but 60 is a terrible, terrible indictment—who have joined ISIL and other terrorist groups to fight in Iraq and Syria, is one of the government's highest national security priorities. The rise of IS has created a humanitarian crisis for the people of Iraq and Syria, and that is why it is important to respond accordingly—if not for a defence reason or to make the world a better place, then out of the sheer humanitarian need for those people who did not ask for IS to begin tearing down their nation and who obviously did not want many of their loved ones, their relatives, their family members and their friends to be beheaded, crucified, raped and tortured. The previous foreign fighters bill provided our law enforcement, and security and intelligence agencies, with the ability to disrupt terrorist activities occurring on our own soil, to help prevent the recruitment of individuals to fight overseas and to hamper the ability of terrorist organisations raising revenue, because that is something they need to keep their dreadful acts going. This bill and associated urgent amendments—and they are urgent—go further, to provide greater enhancement for agencies to respond to posed threats and to address the limitations identified in recent operations. These operations include not only the recent deployment of the Defence Force to Iraq to undertake military operations against the IS but also following the disruption of the alleged terrorist attack in Sydney. Thousands of misguided people from around the world are joining terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq. We have heard how many are coming from Canada to do just that. I have just said that up to 60, if not more, Australians are involved because they claim Islam is under threat and because they are excited by the prospect of battle. What a terrible shame that is. This is not about a religion; it is about a death cult, as the Prime Minister has pointed out on any number of occasions. The Australian government is determined to prevent the rise of radicalisation in Australian society. It is important for Australia and for the world that IS is defeated and, with that, I commend the bill to the House.