Turnbull Government to introduce new shoot to kill laws

SOLDIERS will be called in to shoot-to-kill terrorists quicker and be placed on standby for critical events under Turnbull Government laws that make it easier for police to hand over to the Australian Defence Force.

SOLDIERS will be called in to shoot-to-kill terrorists quicker and be placed on standby for critical events under Turnbull Government laws that make it easier for police to hand over to the Australian Defence Force.

The new laws, to be introduced into Parliament today and sparked after the Lindt Cafe siege tragedy, will ensure better weapons and capabilities can be used more quickly, including during large-scale riots.

Currently, Defence response to a possible terrorist attack on Australian soil is constrained under the Defence Act. State police have to say an attack has exceeded their capability.

The new laws make it clearer and easier for the ADF to take over from police, especially if their expertise enhances a likely positive outcome.

Attorney-General Christian Porter said it would be impossible to know if there would have been a different outcome if Defence took over the crisis. In December 2014, Man Haron Monis held 18 people hostage at a Lindt cafe in Martin Place. After 16 hours, police stormed the cafe after Monis killed hostage Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson by a ricochet police bullet.

Parliament will introduce new laws to cope with terror situations such as the Lindt Cafe siege. Picture: Adam Taylor

The Australian SAS, which is deployed to war zones to kick down doors and kill combatants have undisclosed weapons and training police do not have.

There were reports in May of a British SAS sniper shooting dead an ISIS militant in Iraq from 2.4km away using a CheyTac M200, a manually operated, rotating bolt sniper rifle.

In Australia, the range for state police is about 400m, but when it comes to accuracy, it is generally a range of about 100m.

The Government overhaul has been sparked by a 2016 review of Defence’s support to national counter-terrorism arrangements but also mirrors recommendations made by NSW Coroner Michael Barnes’s coronial inquest into the Lindt Cafe siege.

Mr Porter said amendments to the ADF call-out powers were the most significant

changes since the provisions were enacted in 2000, in the lead up to the Sydney Olympics.

“The terror threat we face today is greater and more complex than that we faced when these laws were introduced almost 20 years ago.

“Agencies around Australia can easily request ADF assistance to respond to these threats where necessary and are available to states and territories to assist with other major incidents, such as riots or other domestic incidents that threaten the security and lives of Australians.”

The Bill will amend Part IIIAAA of the Defence Act 1903 to:

● make it easier for states and territories to request ADF support where necessary to assist in the event of a terrorist or other violent incidents, such as widespread rioting;

● allow the ADF to be pre-authorised to respond to threats on land, at sea and in the air;

● simplify, expand and clarify the ADF’s powers to search, seize, and control movement at the scene of a terrorist incident; and

● strengthen the ability of the ADF to respond to incidents occurring in more than one jurisdiction.