Jessica Collins (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise to speak in support of the Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Bill 2025. Terrorism is an ongoing threat to the security, democracy and values of the Australian people, and the coalition will always support sensible legislation that protects our national security. This bill empowers the Governor-General, on the advice of the AFP minister and with the agreement of the foreign affairs minister, to list foreign state entities as state sponsors of terrorism. The bill also introduces new offences for financing, supporting or associating with listed state sponsors and extends existing law enforcement powers to these provisions. The coalition has long called for these reforms, and, while we may disagree with the government on the timeliness of the reforms, they are undoubtedly welcome in tackling the issue of state sponsored terrorism. I am, however, concerned with the government's approach to this legislation and the rushed and inadequate consultation with the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

Recently, my hometown of Sydney was sadly touched by terrorism and by those who would wish to harm many great Australians. A Sydney kosher restaurant was firebombed in October 2024. Thankfully, no-one was killed. Numerous other antisemitic attacks on synagogues, daycares and homes have been perpetrated. We now know, thanks to the tireless work of intelligence services, that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for state sponsored, directed and enabled terrorism on Australian soil. This attack on our sovereignty and members of our community has not gone unpunished, and the coalition wholeheartedly supports the eviction of the Iranian ambassador. I ask the Australian government to consider further punitive actions on those responsible and the application of Interpol Red Notices on any persons overseas found to be involved in the execution and planning of these terrorist attacks on Australian soil.

Australia's national terrorism threat level has been raised to 'probable', meaning there is greater than 50 per cent chance of a terrorist attack or planning within the next year. Now more than ever, we need a strong government to send the message that Australia will not stand for terrorism, state sponsored or otherwise, on our streets. What does not send a strong message, however, is how the government has handled this bill and its substandard reference to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. Submitters were only given seven clear days to respond to the bill at a two-hour public hearing. This truncated process prevented proper scrutiny by key national security stakeholders, and the parliament was unable to further examine the bill for deficiencies or opportunities for expansion.

I will not wait for after the next terror attack to happen in my community before speaking out on what we can do better. This parliament should be proactive, not reactive, to the national security challenges we face. On Tuesday evening, the Director-General of Security, Mike Burgess, addressed the Lowy Institute with a sobering assessment of our domestic security posture and those who wish to do Australians harm. At least three foreign countries are willing to assassinate political dissidents on Australian soil and are capable of carrying out lethal targeting. Never before has our top security expert delivered such clear messaging that other states are acting against us, again making the case for the expansion of our counterterrorism and counter-foreign-interference legislation and agencies.

To that end, and as I have said before in this place, Australia needs to expand our ability to monitor and disrupt threats. Australia needs to urgently establish a national technical assistance centre that manages all of the national intelligence community access to lawfully intercepted information. This coordination and assistance mechanism would greatly enhance Australia's national security architecture to rapidly, proactively and effectively respond to emerging threats. Australian agencies possess the capabilities and expertise to stop threats before they occur, yet antiquated intelligence-sharing mechanisms hamper their ability to do so. Furthermore, each Australian state and territory has a joint counterterrorism team. This body coordinates and responds to emergent and enduring terrorism threats with federal agencies. There is no such federal equivalent. The Home Affairs Counter-Terrorism Coordination Centre does not handle operational detail or provide ongoing assessments and mitigations.

I call on the Senate to formalise an inquiry into the creation of such a body to draw on all areas of the national intelligence community to better respond to terrorism in Australia at an operational level. This body would bring law enforcement, signals intelligence, human intelligence and technical expertise into the same tent. Policy already exists to authorise classes of intelligence officers to proactively work across the powers present in the ASIO Act, the Intelligence Services Act and other pieces of national security legislation concurrently. The Attorney-General, home affairs minister, foreign minister and Minister for Defence can vastly expand government's capacity to keep Australians safe with the stroke of a pen, and I call on them to do so. Too often our capabilities are able to mitigate threats, but our bureaucracy gets in the way. Like with abolishing the arbitrary distinction between foreign and security intelligence, our collection apertures need to be cleared of red tape and ministerial interference. Let our agencies do their jobs.

Clearing this red tape is only half the battle. The other half is funding our agencies responsible for counterterrorism correctly. The Home Affairs portfolio, Foreign Affairs portfolio and Defence portfolio all have their roles to play in the defence of this nation from threats such as the IRGC. Again, the coalition calls for adequate funding to these entities charged by this parliament to counter domestic and foreign threats to our security.

While the national intelligence community agencies fulfil their counterterrorism responsibilities, the Australian Defence Force is not traditionally thought of by this government as a priority in facing these threats. Operation Okra was the Australian Defence Force contribution to the military intervention against the Islamic State. The operation commenced in August 2014 and concluded in December 2024.

The Defence Force is still vital in our counterterrorism efforts, and, with offshore threats still persisting in 2025, it is vital that the government is consistent with the strategic goals of this bill by also increasing the budget for our Australian Defence Force. To be ready for a geopolitically uncertain tomorrow, we must prepare for it today. The coalition led the way on this bill, and I, again, show my support for commonsense legislation that keeps Australians safe and offer my bipartisan collaboration to act against those who would do Australians harm.