Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Will the minister update the House on the terrorist attack in Tunisia and the threat posed by violent extremism and foreign terrorist fighters?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Durack for her question. Countering terrorism and the extremist violence which drives it is the Australian government's top national security priority. Members of this House will be appalled at the terrorist attacks in Tunisia overnight. Around 20 people have been gunned down in a cowardly attack on innocent tourists. Sadly, I can confirm that an Australian-Colombian dual national from New South Wales and his Colombian mother were among the victims. Our thoughts are with their family, and we are offering consular assistance. Our thoughts are also with the people of Tunisia. As in so many other countries, Tunisia is struggling with violent extremism. The Tunisian government estimates that it has around 2,000 foreign terrorist fighters in the Syria-Iraq conflict, part of the estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fighters from around the globe, including around 100 from Australia. No nation is immune to this brutal Islamic ideology. There are reports today of another Australian terrorist fighter killed in Syria. This is yet to be officially confirmed. This person would add to the more than 20 young Australians killed fighting in the conflict. It is yet another example of young, vulnerable people being lured into Daesh's poisonous web of senseless violence.

I have spoken previously in this House of the unspeakable crimes of Daesh against young people, particularly women and girls. As if the Daesh bombings and beheadings and rapes and other atrocities against the people of Syria and Iraq were not reason enough to act, Daesh is reportedly now using crude chemical weapons against military forces and civilians in Syria and Iraq—another example of Daesh's complete disdain for human life. There is evidence of chlorine in the clothing and on the bodies of victims killed in recent attacks. Chlorine kills through choking, and its use in conflicts is banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention. Australia has a key national interest in fighting Daesh and the spread of extremist violence. That is why we have joined a coalition of some 60 countries, including Iraq's neighbours, to help Iraq reclaim its territory from Daesh and liberate its people from the clutches of Daesh. It is why we have taken a lead role in the United Nations, co-sponsoring Security Council resolution 2178, which requires all nations to prevent the financing, travel and activities of terrorists. And it is why we are strengthening cooperation with our counterterrorism partners, particularly in South-East Asia, and helping our own communities work with individuals who are at risk of radicalisation through a range of community programs. I particularly want to thank the leaders of our Muslim communities for their support in our efforts. The government will do what we can, at home and abroad, to combat violent extremism and keep our people safe.