Peter Hendy (Eden-Monaro, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak today. I had mainly prepared these remarks in relation to recent counter-terrorism legislation; but, as matters transpired, I was not able to speak on the relevant bill. I want to speak from the wider perspective of someone who has had a career across the public and private sectors, who has had senior jobs working in the Defence portfolio and who has also represented the Australian business community. I also want to speak simply as a person who represents in this place 100,000 New South Wales voters and some 140,000 residents in all who are alarmed and extremely concerned about recent events here in Australia and overseas, in places as diverse as Iraq, Syria, Canada and the United States.

Some people say that terrorism began with the French Revolution and the Jacobites' bloody reign of terror in the 1790s. I think that that is a very narrow view of history. Terrorism has been around for centuries and probably thousands of years. The bottom line is that terrorism is not new. However, what we are facing now, particularly with Islamic extremism, is a new variation. It is in some ways new because of who they are fighting, and of course that 'who' is us—that is to say, the Western world and its civilisation based on human rights: most importantly, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and freedom of association. They are the beautiful children of classical liberalism that we should all be proud of.

The new thing compared with past centuries is that the target of terrorism has changed. In the past, it may have been against certain established groups dominating societies, based on previous martial successes. Now it is against basic humanity. I think that there is a difference, and we cannot bow in the face of it. I was reminded recently of a statement by the famous left-wing author Gore Vidal from 2002, when he stated that we cannot fight 'perpetual war for perpetual peace'. It is a nice-sounding bon mot; however, it is not an acceptable government strategy for the defence and security of the nation. Instead, the classic phrase by General George Marshall, former US Army Chief of Staff and US Secretary of State, is a much more sensible guide for action. He popularised the phrase, 'The price of peace is eternal vigilance.' That should be our guiding strategy. This is not a case where one person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter, as some leftists would have you believe. In this war, we are the fighters for freedom; there can be no doubt about that.

As members of the House may know, I am a former chief of staff of the Minister for Defence. In addition, during the last parliament, I was the member for Curtin's principal adviser on foreign affairs and trade when she was shadow minister for foreign affairs. As I noted in recent debate on our current military and intervention in Iraq, back in 2001 when I was the chief of staff to the Minister for Defence, it was not in Iraq that we were going to war but in Afghanistan. I was in that position at the time of the dreadful attacks of 9-11. I will not today go through the events of that time. Suffice to say that terrorism hit our country and many other countries. Since then, we have been living with the terrorist threat of Islamic extremists.

I remind the House that the attacks on 9-11, which saw 2,977 innocent people die, including 11 Australians, were before the US or Australia ever went into either Afghanistan or Iraq. A total of 88 Australians died in the 2002 Bali bombings perpetrated by Jemaah Islamiah.

This issue has been brought home to us because of the actions of Islamic extremists. We now face a continuing threat. As the Prime Minister and senior ministers have informed us, there are at least 70 Australians that we know of currently fighting with terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq and at least 100 Australians who are supporting them. Our French ally is immensely concerned that there are over 1,000 French citizens or recent French residents that have joined the Islamic extremists. We are now facing an enemy that calls itself variously the Islamic State—IS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant—ISIL, the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham—ISIS. Indeed, the Arab countries do not use any of those terms. They instead use the word Da'ish, which is an acronym in the Arabic tongue of ISIS but also has a sarcastic negative undertone as it is similar to the Arabic word 'daesh', which means one who crushes something underfoot.

We are working in partnership with scores of other countries but led by the United States in confronting this appalling enemy, this death cult as the Prime Minister calls it. We simply cannot ignore statements of ISIL when, for example, its spokesman recently stated:

If you can kill an American or European infidel, especially the spiteful and filthy French, or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the infidel fighters, then rely upon God and kill them in any way possible.

Listen further to the words and deeds of the people who are conducting terrorist activities. Just a few weeks ago, in New York City, a man attacked two police officers with a hatchet. He buried that hatchet into one officer's arm. He then savagely struck the other police officer in the back of the head. Both have survived, but who knows with what long-lasting physical and mental damage. As was reported in the Herald Sun of 24 October 2014, the attacker used social media to call for guerilla warfare. According to the news reports, he also referred to internal mass revolt against America and referenced the US air strikes on Islamic State, according to Fox News.

Earlier, as reported by Fox News on 27 September 2014, there was a beheading in Oklahoma. According to the report, FBI officials are investigating a beheading at an Oklahoma food distribution centre after coalition-workers said the suspect tried to convert them to Islam after his own recent conversion.

Recently ISIL has made clear their intentions regarding Australia. In the Sydney Morning Herald of 13 October 2014, it states:

The Islamic State group has made a fresh pitch to followers to carry out spontaneous. ... attacks against Australians and citizens of other 'crusader nations' ... to carry out spontaneous "lone wolf" attacks against Australians and citizens of other crusader nations.

Most significantly, it goes on to say:

Most significantly, it tells would-be jihadists to keep their plots small and their strategies simple, involving as few people as possible

Further, it quotes ISIL as stating:

At this point in the crusade against the same extent it is very important that attacks take place in every country that has entered into the alliance against the Islamic State, especially the US, UK, France, Australia and Germany.

And of course the recent dramatic events in Ottawa, Canada brought home what could happen here. As Reuters reported on 23 October 2014:

The gunman in Wednesday's attack on Canada's capital had a criminal record and had recently applied for a passport planning to travel is to Syria after undergoing a radicalisation process.

This is who we are up against.

The arrests in Sydney and Brisbane three months ago to stop a potential gruesome beheading in Martin Place Sydney under the direct orders of ISIL are a case in point. We cannot ignore that. We have to deal with the issues. I have lived and worked in the Middle East in the gulf state of Bahrain myself. I was there with my wife, daughter and son. The Bahrainis are warm and hospitable people. I am proud of the fact that Bahrain has joined the coalition to help fight ISIL. It is a significant development that a number of strongly Islamic countries like Bahrain joining in the fight. People should be very careful about how they express themselves so as not to create unnecessary divisions when we need to all together in facing the current challenges. We need to talk in calm terms. Equally, I think we cannot simply ignore the fact that these extremists events have been done in the name of Islam, even if the mainstream Islamic community opposes what is being done. We need to work with the Islamic community, both here and abroad, to deal with this cancer that is damaging peaceful coexistence.

In conclusion, and as I have previously said, there may be very dark days ahead. Let us hope this conflict with the Islamic terrorists is not protracted. Unfortunately, I think it very well could be. That is a daunting prospect. However, from what we can see now and for the short future over the horizon, we need to stay the course and commit our best effort to this ugly necessity.