Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I present the committee's report entitled Review of the listing of AQAP and the re-listing of six terrorist organisations. This report reviews the initial listing of the terrorist organisation known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the relisting of six previously listed terrorist organisations.

Due to the dissolution of the 42nd Parliament and the 2010 federal election, advice to the committee from the Attorney-General's Department of the new listing and the relistings was unavoidably delayed and the committee was therefore unable to review these organisations and report to the parliament within the disallowance period. However, the committee resolved to review the new listing of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the relisting of six other terrorist organisations and report to parliament, albeit outside the disallowance period.

Having completed its review, I can advise that the committee would not have recommended disallowance of the regulations for any of these seven organisations had the committee been able to complete its review within the disallowance period.

As with previous committee reports on listings and relistings and terrorist organisations, this report identifies issues relating to the current nature and reach of each of the organisations, with particular emphasis in the case of the six relistings on developments since the committee last reviewed these organisations. Information was drawn from the statement of reasons provided by the Attorney-General's Department and, when required, as on this occasion, from a private hearing with the Attorney-General's Department and ASIO.

As mentioned above, this is the first listing of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, known as AQAP. The committee took evidence that AQAP has been involved in a number of terrorist attacks in the Arabian Peninsula, both within and outside Yemen. The committee noted that in February this year the ABC's Foreign Correspondenttelevision program reported that Yemen is 'Al Qaeda's new frontier, and a launching pad for Jihadi inspired terrorism' and that the leader of AQAP, Anwar Al-Awlaki, is drawing recruits from many nations around the world, including Australia.

The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence has recently confirmed the activities of AQAP and its links to Australia as described in Foreign Correspondent. Terrorist attacks which AQAP have recently claimed responsibility for include one on 7 January this year, when 12 soldiers were killed when AQAP militants attacked three military vehicles in the city of Lawdar in Yemen. On 29 October last year, two improvised explosive devices were sent from Yemen using international courier companies and were intercepted in the United Kingdom and in the United Arab Emirates. The devices were disguised as packages and were addressed to synagogues in Chicago. AQAP claim responsibility for sending these devices. In claiming responsibility for the attempted IED attacks mentioned above, AQAP further claimed to have been responsible for the downing of a UPS cargo plane in Dubai in early September 2010 in which two crew members were killed. On 23 July 2010, AQAP militants ambushed a military patrol in the Shabwah province in Yemen, killing six soldiers.

The committee found that AQAP is engaged in activities that satisfy section 102.1 of the Criminal Code. The committee would have not recommended disallowance of the regulations to list AQAP. This is the fourth relisting of al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiah, al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, Jamiat ul-Ansar and the Abu Sayyaf Group, and it is a third relisting of al-Qaeda in Iraq. In each case, the committee was satisfied that each of these groups continues to engage in terrorist activities which could be a threat to Australia or Australian interests here or overseas.

I should note that in reviewing the evidence in support of the listings the committee draws largely on the statement of reasons which is prepared by ASIO in conjunction with the Attorney-General's office. However, completion of the statement of reasons would normally be at least one or two months prior to the committee writing its report, so in order to take into consideration the very latest information about each group the committee often refers to information on Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre website to support the evidence provided in the statement of reasons, and therefore information may be contained in this report which is more up to date than that which is contained in ASIO's statement of reasons. To sum up, I reiterate that if the committee had been able to report within the disallowance period it would not have recommended disallowance of the regulations in relation to any of the seven terrorist organisations mentioned above.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the committee members, particularly the deputy chair, for their work in reviewing these terrorist organisations. Lastly, I would like to thank the secretariat. I commend this report to the House.

Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take the opportunity of endorsing the comments of the chair. It was unusual, because of the nature of the dissolution of the parliament and the reconstitution of the new parliament and the committee membership, that this matter was not able to be considered within the time frame to enable disallowance of the proscription of the terrorist organisations named in the report. But it is clear that these are the most seminal terrorist organisations that might be considered for listing and it is important, I think, to focus on the fact that we are dealing with the generic names al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah, which have been the most significant terrorist organisations with potential links that can impact on Australians and have in fact taken the lives of numbers of Australians. So it was important, given the nature of the listing process, that the committee examine the evidence and it is important that the Australian public recognise from the evidence that has been adduced that these organisations still continue to pose significant threats to Australians, not necessarily in Australia but they can undertake actions and have undertaken actions which lead to the loss of Australian lives.

So what we have before us is a review of the initial listing of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the relisting of al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah, al-Qaeda in the lands of the Islamic Maghreb, Jamaat Ansar and Abu Sayyaf group and al-Qaeda in Iraq. I certainly believe very strongly, on the basis of the evidence that was adduced to the committee but also on an enormous amount of publicly available information, that we should continue. Mention was made of Jane's. If you read the report you will find that material is there and one ought to be very conscious of it. When I looked at the material in relation to the new organisation that is being proscribed, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the committee's view is that this organisation is one that should be proscribed. We were not minded to see it disallowed even if the time frame permitted of it.

Outlined in the report is the engagement of this organisation in terrorism, but I think it is important to look at the linkages with Australia mentioned on page 13 of the report. In paragraph 2.16 of the statement of reasons it does say that in February 2011 it was claimed in ABC's Foreign Correspondent television program that Yemen is al-Qaeda's new frontier and a launching pad for jihad inspired terrorism and that the leader of AQAP is drawing recruits from many nations around the world, including Australia. If you look at the report of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, at a private hearing we have ASIO asserting that this organisation released four editions of its quarterly English magazine Inspire aimed at radicalising and mobilising Muslim youth in the West and Australia has been mentioned twice in the second edition, once as a suitable country for attacks. So I think it is important to recognise that these organisations, al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah, still pose threats to Australia. This is outlined in the report in detail. For those who have doubts and think that the situation has moved on and we should perhaps be easing off, this report should be compelling reading for all.

I endorse the comments of the chair in relation to the committee and can I add in relation to the named staff in the report Robert Little, who is here in the gallery, how much we appreciate the work that he and his colleagues have done. I might say this report is very important in bipartisan terms.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it is important that I did not cut off the member for Berowra for Mr Little's sake a few moments ago. The time allotted for the discussion has concluded.