Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I inform the House that the Western Australian government has confirmed that the Western Australian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, comprising WA police, the Australian Federal Police and ASIO, yesterday charged one man, a 31-year-old male, with engaging in a terrorist act. That offence carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. I was briefed yesterday in person by the AFP commissioner, Krissy Barrett, and the commissioner of police for Western Australia, Col Blanch, on the investigation. I thank the commissioner for WA for travelling here to give an in-person briefing.

As an individual has now been charged, I will use the word 'allegedly'. On 26 January the man is alleged to have thrown a homemade explosive device into the crowd at a rally in Perth. This was a gathering of our fellow Australians exercising their democratic right to express their views and participate in a peaceful demonstration, and they were allegedly targeted because they were Indigenous. This alleged act of terrorism was deliberately aimed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. This was alleged terrorism driven by racism and hatred—hate that should have been banished to the dark reaches of history yet still lives in the dark corners of the internet.

The device did not detonate, but that does not change the fact that this attack was real and the intended consequences would have indeed been horrific—deaths, injuries, trauma beyond imagining. I know that First Nations people around Australia are grappling with that—the combination of disbelief, anger and real fear—and I've met with a number of Indigenous leaders in the last 24 hours about this. As a government, as a parliament and as a nation, we see you and we stand with you. We will do everything required to keep you and your loved ones safe. There is no place for racism or hatred in our nation. It is an offence against our Australian values and it is an offence in Australian law. Importantly, the joint counter terrorism team does not believe there is any residual risk from the alleged perpetrator.

Australia has been enriched by every faith, background and tradition—people all over the world united by their love of this country. Only Australia has the privilege of being home to the oldest continuous culture on earth, and we all share that privilege—people who either have come here or are descendants of people who have come here. That is a source of pride for all of us and is something that all of us have a responsibility to safeguard.

On that, let us stand united as a parliament, as Australians, in support of our nation, and let us reach out at this time—which will be difficult as some further details no doubt will come out as part of this process. It will be a difficult time for Indigenous Australians, and we stand with them at this time.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to associate the opposition with the remarks of the Prime Minister. We are all deeply concerned by what has been declared by authorities as an alleged attempted terror attack on Australians gathering to exercise their right to protest. This alleged event has provoked anxiety, shock and concern in our Indigenous communities, as it has across our nation. Australia is defined by tolerance and respect, and we can never accept a situation where we turn to violence to settle our political differences. These are fragile times for our society, and it is incumbent upon all of us in this place to nurture peaceful civil debate and guard our great democracy against hate and violence. I thank the AFP, the joint counterterrorism team, the Western Australian police and all law enforcement for their ongoing tireless efforts to keep us safe. Today, all fair-minded Australians stand against any who would seek to use political violence.