George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

The very message we are trying to send to the community is a message to discourage its members, particularly its young members, from engaging in this kind of conduct. In a sense, Senator Dastyari, once a person has been radicalised and once a person has travelled to Syria or northern Iraq to fight with ISIL—as, sadly, we have seen some young Australian men doing in media reports in recent days—in most cases, frankly, they are lost. They are lost. One aspect of social conduct that is very troubling is how swiftly apparently ordinary, everyday Australian youths can be radicalised. There have been many instances of individuals being radicalised in a very short span of time that we know about. That, Senator Dastyari, by the way is why we need to have this advocacy of terrorism offence. I do not seem to be able to get through to some members of the Senate, but I am sure you understand, Senator Dastyari, that, when you create a climate in which the advocacy of terrorism is acceptable, then you constrain your capacity to prevent those who by advocating terrorism encourage young men—sometimes unsure of their identity, sometimes unsure about the path or the course of their life, sometimes unsure about their belief system and where they fit into family or social structures—to embrace this radical solution.

So, Senator Dastyari, preventing young people becoming radicalised by measures, such as the measure we are now debating, is absolutely critical. The measures for the advocacy of terrorism are not directed, at least primarily, at the vulnerable young men who are the targets; they are directed to the evil old men who are the proselytisers, the predators and the advocates who seek to ensnare young men in this false, perverted and distorted version of the Islamic faith.

Another important element, Senator, is our engagement with Islamic communities. I am glad you were at Lakemba the other day with my friend Scott Morrison. He, Senator Fierravanti-Wells, I and many other members of the government in our own electorates and our communities have spent a lot of time—as I am sure opposition members of parliament like you have done as well—reaching out to these communities. I spoke in the debate last night about the many meetings I have had with leaders of the Islamic community to engage them as our partners in this task. They are some of the most enthusiastic supporters of this legislation—they are because they know it is designed to address a problem that arises, in particular, in their communities. It is intensely, deeply threatening to those communities and threatening to the vulnerable young people in their communities. We will continue to engage. When the Prime Minister and I announced a suite of measures on 5 August, one of the most important of those measures was a very substantial sum of money to invest in our Countering Violent Extremism programs, which are being delivered through the Australian Federal Police, through state police agencies and other government agencies.

There are other things that civil society does and can do. Only recently, on the day before the AFL Grand Final, I went to Melbourne to present the Bachar Houli Cup, which is a wonderful initiative promoted by the AFL in Melbourne. It recruits young Muslim men who want careers as AFL football players into a scholarship and mentoring program inspired by Australia's first great AFL player who professes the Islamic faith, Bachar Houli—it was my great privilege to meet him that morning—and engage them through sport. I can say, as a former sports minister, that engagement of young people through sport is one of the best possible ways of avoiding alienation and promoting a sense of belonging and inclusion. In a broad sense that is what the Prime Minister means whenever he uses the term 'Team Australia'—that we are all part of the team. In a narrow sense, that is what the AFL is doing, by saying to these young men who are participants in the Bachar Houli program, 'You are part of our particular team'—which is but an element of the great variety of the many community groups to which people feel a sense of belonging and which, in aggregate, amounts to 'Team Australia'.

Senator, the observations you have made are very wise, if I may say so. I know you have been very constructive in your own communities and networks, and have been a very constructive force in promoting this agenda of inclusion in trying to prevent young men feeling so alienated that they become radicalised and prey to the false doctrines of those who would seek to recruit them for evil purposes, to do violence to themselves and to others. The legislative element of this is only one element of a whole-of-government approach, and I appreciate the Labor Party supporting and seeing the wisdom of having this element securely in place.