Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you. For the benefit of Senator McKim and anybody else who may have been listening to this debate tonight, thinking that domestic violence does not have a good definition, I will explain again that it is in section 119 of the Australian Constitution and it is quite clear about what it means. The term 'domestic violence' refers to violence occurring within Australia. The term is not defined in the legislation but refers to conduct that is marked by great physical force and will include a terrorist attack or a hostage situation. Part IIIAAA uses the term 'domestic violence' as this is a term used in the Constitution. Again, as I said, it's not about the vibe or anything else; it is about the black and white of Australia's Constitution. This section explicitly deals with state requests for assistance in responding to domestic violence in a very clear definition.

I would like to thank all of my parliamentary colleagues for their contributions to the debate on the Defence Amendment (Call Out of the Australian Defence Force) Bill 2018. I also thank the opposition for its support for these important amendments to the legislation. I would reflect that, for all of us here in the parliament and also for the executive government, there is actually no greater responsibility than the security of Australians. The review of Defence support for national counterterrorism arrangements, which was announced by the government in July last year, was initiated directly in response to the changing nature of the terrorist threat, as demonstrated in terrorist attacks in Paris, Brussels and London. The amendments are the most significant changes to the Australian Defence Force call-out powers under part IIIAAA of the Defence Act—the biggest changes since 2000, in the lead-up to the Sydney Olympics.

I can assure Senator McKim that, despite the denial—I think it's a somewhat dangerous denial of the Greens—the threat is significantly more complex than the threat Australia faced 20 years ago. Now the threats include explosive devices and highly mobile and coordinated attackers who can move across large areas.