Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australia's counterterrorism measures are a pivotal part of our country's greater obligation to our global community. Of enormous importance is ensuring that we prevent and suppress terrorist acts by stemming access to funds and other financial and economic resources. The recent events in Afghanistan have reminded us not only of what terrorism is capable of but that the fight against it must continue without complacency. Terrorist activity is layered in complexity and does not have an easy solution. But Australia is committed and will continue to ensure that we starve terrorist organisations of resources that would otherwise empower them in their actions.

The Charter of the United Nations Amendment Bill 2021 seeks a minor but important change in how Australia treats counterterrorism financial sanctions listings. These listings serve to make it an offence to use or deal with the assets of or make an asset available to the listed person or entity, as well as to use or deal with a listed asset or class of asset. The bill will make these counterterrorism sanctions listings legislative instruments on the Federal Register of Legislation. Functionally, this reduces the risk of a successful legal challenge relating to the enforceability of the listings. The advice for this amendment comes from the Australian Government Solicitor and ensures optimal consistency of the process for listing persons and entities for counterterrorism financial sanctions under the Charter of the United Nations Act.

I stress that the bill does not impact the validity of any counterterrorism listings. Instead, it allows for an increase in the enforceability of the very sanctions that protect our way of life and security for all Australians. With all current counterterrorism listings registered on the Federal Register of Legislation in late May this year, this legislative change is important and necessary. This bill hedges Australia's bets and puts beyond doubt the enforceability of listings before registration on the Federal Register of Legislation. In the event that any of these listings were found to have legislative characteristics, this bill would stand to protect listings in the period prior their registration. Core to the Australian way of life is a feeling of safety, a knowledge that, while terrorism exists in this world, the government is informed and committed to shutting down domestic threats. Crucial to this is our international commitment to the Charter of the United Nations, whereby Australia alongside the other allied nations come together in a powerful force against terrorist activity. By making it an offence to deal with listed terrorist organisations, Australians are protected from the nefarious activities of these groups, whose attacks on the innocent in the name of hate itself threaten the freedoms we enjoy in our wonderful country.

I call on all Australians to think of the heartbreaking images we have seen recently coming out of Afghanistan, particularly of those at the heavily contested Kabul airport. We've seen parents hand over their children to American forces so they can have a chance at life, knowing full well they may never see them again. We've seen individuals cling to the fuselages of departing planes on runways just to have a chance of freedom—the freedom we may take for granted in Australia, the freedom that makes Australia the very place we call home. This is a sobering reminder throughout the global pandemic, which has been on our minds for the last 18 months, that there are other global issues that we must keep at the forefront of our minds both as policymakers here in this place and as Australians.

Now is not the time to live in the echo chamber of what matters mostly to Australians. The events in Afghanistan remind us of our global commitment and help us understand the privileges we enjoy here at home. Our international brothers and sisters around the world look to our liberal democracy, freedoms, ethical law and respect for the rule of law and for its institutions. These are the things that make us Australia and these are the things that we must protect.

The least we can do as a nation in the fight against terrorist activity is to limit funding to terrorist groups. As part of the cornerstone of our counterterrorism policy, this bill strengthens the ability for Australia to enforce these rules and keeps dangerous assets out of the hands of people who would commit terrible and inhumane acts, threatening not only our people and our homeland but the globe's humanity.

The reach of terrorist activity is something the Morrison government does not take lightly at all. In fact, the Prime Minister has already taken steps to ensure that domestic websites will not be able to host harmful and extremist content from terrorists. This is something that we as Australians should all welcome and was initiated in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attack. The Morrison government rose to tackle the issue at hand, whereby criminals were given platforms to glorify their crimes. We watched in horror during that Christchurch terrorist attack, but I think the world looked to the Morrison government for its early initial response, and this was welcomed around the world. This act was unacceptable, and this government has seen, since then, the outlaw of the spread of this type of material that threatens the ability for Australians and other citizens around the world to feel safe at home and at work but also, importantly, online. Moreover, the Morrison government's action included establishing a 24/7 crisis coordination centre to monitor and notify relevant government agencies of online crisis events involving terrorist and extreme violence material and will provide the eSafety Commissioner with information to undertake rapid assessments.

In addition to these measures, the Morrison government has established a task force to combat terrorist and extreme violent material online. We all know the benefits of open-access internet. It's helpful as an educational resource, it's helpful with information as we deal with things like the global pandemic that we're all facing and it's a means of communication for those who may not able to access it more easily, particularly in rural and remote parts of Australia, and, of course, we've all relied on online open access for our entertainment through lockdowns during COVID. But the Morrison government does not view the internet completely through rose tinted glasses. The government recognises the possible dissemination of material allowing for extremism to flourish, and we have taken measures to halt this. These actions have helped secure the internet environment for all Australians.

This bill cannot be simply reduced to the legislative changes before us. We must keep the bigger global picture in the front of our minds. Terrorist activity continues to flourish, but the Morrison government is leading the way in restricting these groups' access to resources. This bill marks a crucial step forward for Australian counterterrorism as part of our global obligations, ensuring optimal consistency by registering all listings with the Federal Register of Legislation—and, subsequently, enforcement of relevant policy is made rock solid removing any doubt it could have led to legal challenges. We will not relax on the important issue of our national security, especially in the case of the global terrorist threat. As the House moves forward, we must be constantly reminded of why this legislation exists. We cannot forget the terrorism that exists in this world. The good that we do in this place needs to thwart the efforts of those who seek to subvert human rights; we owe it to ourselves, our children, our nation and the world.

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