Mal Brough (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, will you update the House on what steps the government is taking to keep and maintain a safe and secure nation?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. My first briefing as Prime Minister designate today was with the director of security. There is no more important obligation or duty for any government than protecting the safety of the people. We as a government are committed to ensuring that our borders are secure and to getting the balance right as we counter extremism at home and abroad. These are very, very complex challenges, and we focus on them relentlessly.

We are a vastly more open and interconnected nation in the world than we have ever been before. Technology, which has brought with it so many benefits, also brings new challenges. As the tragic events of MH17 and the acts of brutal violence and terrorism in the Middle East remind us so regularly, we are no longer a country far away from the problems of the world. Terrible scenes and terrible incidents are seen on our television screens and on social media and, of course, can confront us here at home.

As I speak today, members of the ADF are in the Middle East, putting themselves in harm's way to stop the spread of a violent ideology. As honourable members know, the government announced on 9 September our decision to extend our air operations to target Daesh in Syria, and we also announced an additional $44 million in humanitarian assistance for people displaced due to the fighting in Iraq and Syria. That assistance will support more than 240,000 Syrians and Iraqis forced to flee their homes or seek refuge in neighbouring countries. In no small part because we have been successful in securing our borders, we can play our part in helping resettle an additional 12,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq. That is over and above the regular humanitarian program of 13,750 refugees, who will be resettled as soon as possible.

We are conducting a review of our Defence forces via a white paper, due out later this year, which will help define our key national priorities. But countering violent extremism also begins at home, and we are working with social media companies and communities in countering the spread of extremist ideas. The defence of Australia and its people is the single most important duty of this government, and we remain focused on that mission now, as we have always been.