David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

From the outset, I want to be clear that the Greens support the Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Bill 2025. We support its core intent. The Greens have been on record for some two-and-a-bit years calling for the listing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation. We've done that because we were listening to the community. We have close ties with the Iranian community in Australia and have worked with them, in particular, in their campaign, Woman, Life, Freedom, following the horrific killing of Jina Mahsa Amini. When you work with the Iranian community and you go to protests, speaking in support of the Woman, Life, Freedom campaign, they'll tell you about the fear inside the community, both in Iran and around the world, of the IRGC. The women in Iran are in fear for their freedom, for their physical safety and, as in the case of Jina Mahsa Amini, for their lives. They made it very clear to us that that was a core demand for them.

I also want to thank the Kurdish community in Australia for their advocacy in the matter too, and that has included their advocacy for the Woman, Life, Freedom campaign. The Kurdish community and other ethnic and religious groups inside Iran—there's diversity inside Iran—know the reality of persecution. They know the brutal reality of the IRGC. And we've put on record our concerns for the Kurdish community in Iran and the threats that they face. Of course, the killing of Jina Mahsa Amini was a part of that—a proud, strong Kurdish-Iranian woman targeted for how she looked and for her identity by a brutal terrorist grouping that terrorises the Iranian people. I do want to give credit as well to my colleague Senator Jordon Steele-John, who had the foreign affairs portfolio and did such a remarkably good job of it in the previous parliament. He stated on 13 September 2023:

Jina 'Mahsa' Amini's death sparked a wave of protests in Iran, and began the Woman Life Freedom movement globally. Over the past year people across the globe have been in solidarity with those targeted by the Iranian regime.

There continues to be unfair trials, egregious executions and continued removal of the rights of women and girls. Australia must maintain pressure on Iranian authorities to free peaceful protestors who are demanding freedom from their country.

Listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisations would send a strong signal that Australia will not stay silent in the face of human rights abuses and will act to punish perpetrators who are accountable for these heinous crimes.

The Australian Greens continue their solidarity with the Iranian Diaspora community in Australia and their ongoing fight for freedom. Women, Life, Freedom.

But, of course, those calls were met by a wall of obfuscation from the government, who said: 'It's all too hard. Changing the law would be an incredibly complex job. You can't list the IRGC, because it's part of a government entity. You know—impossibility, impossibility, impossibility.' And we said at the time—and we weren't the only ones to say it at the time; I know the coalition said it—'We'll bring the legislation forward and it will pass, provided it's well crafted and does the job. Bring the legislation forward, and you've got a clear parliamentary pathway to it. Don't talk to us about the problems; talk to us about the solution.' And all we got was obfuscation and inaction, the government hiding behind the current laws and saying, 'Well, you can't do it, because the current laws don't allow for the listing of a government related entity.' But, of course, other countries, like the United States and European countries, have listed the IRGC and have the capacity to list government associated government entities as terrorist organisations. Again, we said: 'Well, just look at what the United States has done. Look at what other countries have done. They permit government entities to be identified as terrorist organisations.' In truth, on this planet, some of the largest terror organisations are government entities, delivering obscene violence. It's indiscriminate, or it's often targeted political violence against minorities. Some of the worst offenders on the planet are government entities. I just want to raise this.

Although this has been an issue now for more than two years—the Greens have been calling for it, civil society has been calling for it—this process was still rushed. Once again, the government rushed scrutiny of this bill and sent it to the PJCIS, whose final report, while endorsing the bill, fails to take into account a number of significant concerns raised in that process, including what can often be the unfair—and, I assume, unintended—impacts on humanitarian aid delivery.

It doesn't come just from the effects of this bill. Those concerns have been baked into the listing legislation since its inception. Aid organisations, including the Australian Council for International Development and Save the Children Australia have called for broad humanitarian exemptions consistent with UN council resolutions to provide regulatory certainty for Australian NGOs who are responding to global humanitarian crises. These are critically important concerns, and we call on the government to consider them and consider them further. Indeed, the Greens will be presenting amendments to this bill to provide for the protection of Australian NGOs who are working in areas which are under de facto control of listed organisations to allow them to work to provide critical humanitarian relief—food, medicine, housing, water.

When you talk to NGOs who are active in the international humanitarian space, they say that there is incredible legal risk to them in providing basic humanitarian relief and saving lives in conflict zones such as Afghanistan because of listings. They say that those concerns also arise in parts of Palestine and Gaza because of the listings. They say that those concerns also arise in other conflict zones such as Sudan, where we absolutely know that there is an urgent need for humanitarian aid. To punish the people on the ground, who are under the de facto control of a listed organisation, facing the brutality of that listed organisation—often with that comes famine, comes a lack of access to medicine, comes internal displacement—and to punish them twice and say, 'Not only are you under the de facto control of a terrorist organisation against your will and being held at ransom at that level; because of that, Australian aid organisations can't provide aid to you like the food that you need to feed your kids, the housing you need to protect yourself and the medicine,' is a double punishment.

I want to read onto the record my thanks for my chief of staff, Kym Chapple, who has done a huge amount of work in speaking with the NGOs, coming to grips with the submissions that went to PJCIS and helping my party bring forward amendments which we think would be critical for helping humanitarian organisations. Sometimes the work of our staff doesn't get noticed. I want to tell you this has been noticed.

We also note submissions to the inquiry from the Alliance for Journalists' Freedom, who recommended an inclusion to a specific exemption for journalism being undertaken in the public interest. Again, many of the concerns that apply to humanitarian organisations, who we want on the ground stopping people from starving, giving people access to clean water and helping people who are already being terrorised in these conflict zones—we also need journalists to be there to cover what's happening and to tell the truth about what's happening. Sometimes that requires engagement with these organisations, because that's the only way you can get access and maintain access. Journalists should also have a protection and a clear protection when they're engaged in public interest journalism. Because, unless we see the truth, how can we help? Again I say to the government, on behalf of my party: consider closely the amendments that are being brought in this space, because we have that obligation.

But now I want to address what we could describe as the elephant in the room. We are amending the law now to allow for government entities to be listed as terrorist entities under the law. By this bill's own criteria, the Israel Defense Forces, the IDF, would qualify for listing as a terrorist entity. The test is straightforward really: a foreign state entity that causes serious harm or death to Australian citizens to advance a political cause. Well, in April 2024, Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom was killed in Gaza by an IDF airstrike on a clearly marked World Central Kitchen vehicle. I'll just repeat that. In April 2024, Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom was killed in Gaza by an IDF airstrike on a clearly marked World Central Kitchen vehicle. In October 2025, Australians on the Gaza flotilla were detained by Israeli forces illegally, had their arms dislocated and heads slammed to the ground and were held in torture-like conditions. If those two points don't meet the test of serious harm under this law, then what does?

Let's pass this bill, and let's get on with listing the IRGC. But then let's list the Israeli Defence Force as a state sponsor of terrorism for their actions against Australians. And that doesn't count the obscenity of their actions against millions of Palestinians. No more double standards based on who our purported friends are. That's not justice. That's just politics dressed up as national security. Let's amend the law. Let's allow for state entities to be listed as terrorist organisations, and then let's look clearly at the world and see where the largest state directed terror organisations are. If you cast your eyes fairly across this planet asking, 'Which are the largest terrorist organisations that are state terrorist organisations?' and you don't see the IDF, then you're not looking.

Jessica Collins (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just want to make some brief remarks about the Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Bill 2025 before the Senate today, in which we look at establishing a new framework for designating a foreign entity as a state sponsor of terrorism. Under this bill, an entity may be listed if the minister responsible for the Australian Federal Police is satisfied that a foreign state entity and/or one of its members has engaged in, prepared, planned, assisted in or fostered a terrorist act targeting Australia or has advocated for such an act. Before any regulation is made to list an entity, the AFP minister must first obtain the agreement of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and arrange for the Leader of the Opposition to be briefed. These requirements ensure that proper foreign policy coordination and bipartisan oversight are maintained.

The bill also introduces new offences to criminalise terrorist activity carried out by listed state entities or their proxies, as well as conduct by persons who support such activities. Recognising the potential consequences of criminalising state entities, the bill includes defences and exemptions to protect lawful engagement for legitimate purposes such as humanitarian assistance. The legislation comes in response to ASIO's assessment that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, had directed at least two attacks in Australia. These attacks are utterly unacceptable, and the government is taking decisive action far stronger than any other government had previously done. While the previous coalition government did not impose sanctions on the IRGC, our government has taken on board the advice of our security agencies and the report that was conducted by the Senate committee only about 18 months ago and has targeted at least 200 sanctions on Iran and the IRGC. We've also acted on the United Nations and strengthened domestic laws.

Faced with evidence of attacks on Australian soil, we're also going further, and that is formalising the listing of the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. Through this bill, the government is once again doing what responsible governments must do—protecting Australians and defending our national sovereignty. We are closing the gap that allows malicious foreign actors to operate in this country, and we are doing so with clear purpose, firm resolve and proper oversight. These amendments before the Senate strengthen Australia's counterterrorism framework and ensure that our agencies have the tools that they need to act decisively against those that seek to do us harm. This is about keeping Australians safe—the foremost duty of any government.

While I'm on my feet, I'd like to acknowledge and thank the former deputy chair of the PJCIS, Mr Andrew Wallace MP, and former member and also a former deputy chair, Mr Hastie, who recently resigned from the committee. I want to acknowledge both gentlemen who served on this committee with distinction for many years, demonstrating their unwavering diligence, integrity and genuine commitment to bipartisanship for many, many years, particularly Mr Wallace. During his time on the committee as deputy chair, he assisted me in contributing to rigorous oversight, helped shape some key recommendations over a number of reports and played an important role in strengthening Australia's national security framework. Through his approach and dedication to the committee's work, we've been able to achieve some really great results. I want to wish him all the success—not too much—as the new shadow attorney-general.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One Nation has called out foreign governments and their agents who act against Australian citizens and even against our country right here in Australia. These include China, some Islamic nations and some members of the former Soviet Union.

The Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Bill 2025 would amend the Criminal Code to enable listing of certain foreign states or foreign state entities as terrorist organisations. Currently, this is not possible with the law, because foreign states or foreign state entities are not able to be listed as terrorist organisations. Two lawyers, including a barrister, and their staff have scrutinised this bill for One Nation, and our senators have considered and discussed the bill. The bill would authorise the Governor-General to list in a regulation foreign state entities as state sponsors of terrorism. That's wonderful. The precondition to this occurring is that the minister for the Australian Federal Police, who is the home affairs minister, must believe on reasonable grounds that the foreign state or entity has engaged in, prepared or planned, assisted or fostered the doing of a terrorist act targeted against Australia or, in addition, if the entity has advocated doing a terrorist act that was targeted at Australia. The minister can only act with the agreement of the foreign affairs minister.

Secondly, the bill creates new offences which would criminalise conduct in which these entities engage and criminalise the conduct of persons who would seek to assist or support these activities. Additionally, it provides for appropriate defences for people who the law requires, for example, to engage with a listed entity or engage with an entity for a legitimate purpose. One aspect that has raised some concerns, though, is the reversal of the onus of proof that will apply when some defendants raise certain defences, where the defendant must establish the defence on the balance of probabilities. For example, a defendant may have the onus of establishing that they took all reasonable steps to disassociate themselves from a particular terrorist entity. The reversal of the onus of proof is a major event in legislation and should not be done lightly. Nonetheless, it appears justified here because of the nature of the offending behaviour.

We in One Nation have noticed this increasing trend in Labor-sponsored legislation over the last few years, and that sounds alarm bells to those who are responsible for scrutinising good policy. We're very concerned about this trend. At times, this is a precursor to control and may reflect today's Labor's propensity to control. This reversal of the onus of proof must be carefully scrutinised on each occasion on which it's raised. On this occasion, the government has justified this approach because of the preventive nature of measures that are being enabled to protect the Australian community from targeted acts of terrorism and the high risks of death or injury associated with such acts of terrorism. This bill's additional protections are reasonable in the overall circumstances, given that radicalised Islamic extremists perpetrate relatively frequent terror attacks and Chinese Communist Party agents intimidate and bully law-abiding Australian citizens of Chinese dissent here in Australia. One Nation believes that Australian citizens of all backgrounds must be protected. We support this bill.

Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank my parliamentary colleagues for their contributions to the debate on the Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Bill 2025 and to the committee process. Keeping our community safe from those who seek to do us harm is a top priority for the Albanese government. The government condemns in the strongest possible terms foreign states who seek to harm and terrify Australians. These actors seek to sow discord and division in our community and they will not be allowed to succeed. The bill amends the Criminal Code to introduce a framework to list foreign state entities as state sponsors of terrorism and respond to state terrorist acts. The bill will also provide a comprehensive suite of criminal offences addressing state sponsors of terrorism and the acts they seek to foster on our shores. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies will be provided the same powers to investigate and disrupt these threats as they have for non-state terrorist acts.

Many of my Senate colleagues have done a good job of summing up the structure of this bill and the way that it will seek to list state sponsored terrorism, so I won't go into that, but I wanted to address the second reading amendment that's been proposed by Senator Thorpe. I think it's important to put this on the record. Of course we respect Senator Thorpe, but the government will not be supporting her second reading amendment. There is no place in Australia for racism, hatred or discrimination of any kind, and we unequivocally condemn it. Every Australian, no matter their race or religion, should be able to enjoy their life in any Australian community without prejudice or discrimination. It is inappropriate to use a second reading amendment to attack or criticise our law enforcement agencies. We note that Senator Thorpe does have other mechanisms available to her to put motions to the Senate or debate this issue, and I urge the Senate to oppose this amendment.

In concluding on the bill itself, I want to reiterate that the bill sends the strongest possible signal that Australia condemns the actions of foreign states who seek to harm Australians and that any attack targeting Australians will not be tolerated. We must stand in unity against attempts to divide our society. In supporting this bill, this place would be displaying a strong resolve in defence of our sovereignty and our collective way of life. I thank the chamber.

Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, you mentioned the second reading amendment. As of now, that hasn't been moved. Unless someone is proposing to move it, we will just put the— (Quorum formed)

David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—On behalf of Senator Thorpe, I move the amendment standing in her name:

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) notes that:

(i) far-right extremism now poses one of the greatest threats to community safety in this country, with a rising number of violent attacks explicitly targeting First Peoples, migrants and refugees over the past year;

(ii) on 31 August 2025, far-right extremists, including members of the National Socialist Network, attacked Camp Sovereignty, a site of Aboriginal resistance and the sacred resting place for the ancestors of 38 Nations;

(iii) on that day, neo-Nazis armed with weapons targeted and violently assaulted Aboriginal mothers, inflicting serious injuries that required hospitalisation;

(iv) the attack on Camp Sovereignty is a continuation of the original violence and genocide perpetrated against First Peoples since invasion;

(v) First Peoples, migrants and refugees, particularly women, bear the brunt of this violence; and

(vi) the Government should be prioritising the very real threat of far-right terrorism happening here alongside threats from overseas; and

(b) condemns:

(i) the deliberate spread of racist and anti-immigrant narratives by politicians and media commentators that embolden far-right movements and normalise hate-fuelled violence;

(ii) the hypocrisy of governments and commentators who condemn peaceful protest and political expression while remaining silent on racially motivated attacks committed by neo-Nazis against First Nations people and women; and

(iii) the failure of the Government, the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police to respond decisively and treat the Camp Sovereignty attack as both a terrorist attack and a hate crime; and

(c) calls on the Government to:

(i) immediately investigate the Camp Sovereignty attack as a hate crime and an act of far-right terrorism; and

(ii) move without delay to list the National Socialist Network and other   .far-right neo-Nazi groups as terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code".

Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the second reading amendment standing in the name of Senator Thorpe, as moved by Senator Shoebridge on her behalf, be agreed to.