Anthony Albanese kept in dark over anti-Semitic caravan plot amid security agency splits

Security agencies who kept Anthony Albanese in the dark until a major anti-Semitic terror bomb plot was made public could be subject to an inquiry probing if communication errors were made.

Anthony Albanese deflected questions from Peter Dutton about when he was informed about the Dural caravan terror plot during question time on Wednesday. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

National security agencies who kept Anthony Albanese in the dark until the discovery of an ­explosive-laden caravan containing a list of Jewish terror targets was made public could be subject to an inquiry probing whether protocols should be updated or whether communication errors were made.

As the Prime Minister flew to north Queensland on Wednesday night to tour flood-ravaged Townsville, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke brought in amendments to the government’s hate crimes bill to introduce mandatory minimum six-year sentences for convicted terrorists.

The government’s backflip was a significant win for Peter Dutton, who has advocated the legal crackdown since the firebombing of Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue last year, and a break from Labor’s traditional opposition to mandatory sentences.

Mandatory sentencing changes, if the bill passes the Senate as expected, will also include 12 months’ jail for displaying Nazi symbols and terrorist iconography, and three years for financing terrorism.

Under pressure from the Opposition Leader in question time, Mr Albanese defended the Australian Federal Police and ASIO and refused to reveal when he was told about the Sydney bomb plot, which potentially would have created a 40m blast and been the largest mass casualty terror attack in Australian history.

Despite NSW Premier Chris Minns last week confirming he was briefed on January 20, Mr ­Albanese will not say when he was informed by security chiefs about the caravan, which contained Powergel explosives and a note with addresses of Jewish people and a synagogue.

The Australian understands that Mr Albanese and Attorney-­General Mark Dreyfus were briefed about the terror plot on January 29, the same day that The Daily Telegraph broke the story and 10 days after the caravan had been located in Dural by NSW police.

While Mr Albanese has accepted the AFP argument that protocols for passing up the information to federal leaders did not require it be shared because there was no “imminent threat or risk to the community”, a public inquiry could be ordered to determine whether existing guidelines should be updated.

With security experts and the Coalition raising concerns over Labor’s dismantling of the Department of Home Affairs and deficiencies in Australia’s national security architecture, Mr Albanese has swung in behind the AFP and ASIO.

Behind the scenes, The Australian understands there has been blame shifting between the Albanese and Minns governments over how the terror plot was leaked and whether the investigations were compromised.

In addition to historic divisions between the AFP and NSW Police Force over investigations and leaks, friction between federal security agencies has emerged after AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw linked domestic anti-Semitic attacks to foreign actors potentially paying local criminals to target Jewish communities.

Mr Kershaw is expected to be grilled by Coalition MPs when he appears at a parliamentary joint committee on law enforcement public hearing on Thursday.

Although NSW police told Mr Minns about the caravan the day after it was found, a decision was made not to spread the information to political leaders in ­Canberra, despite surging anti-­Semitic violence across the country and firebombings of a synagogue and childcare sites in Melbourne and Sydney.

Some security experts believe the decision to keep the Prime Minister in the dark after briefing Mr Minns was a major error in judgment and a failure of intelligence communications akin to the handling of US intelligence before the Twin Towers 9/11 attacks in New York.

While Mr Albanese has publicly defended police decisions and security management, there has been active consideration of an inquiry into the handling of intelligence and why the Prime Minister’s Office was not informed of the threat earlier.

The Joint Counter Terrorism Team involving the AFP, ASIO, state police and other agencies was stood up on January 20 to lead the caravan investigation.

The following day, Mr Albanese and Mr Minns visited a firebombed Sydney childcare centre before convening an emergency national cabinet meeting on anti-Semitism, where federal, state and territory leaders were briefed by Mr ­Kershaw but not alerted to the ­explosives-laden caravan.

The Australian understands that protocols relied upon to not inform Mr Albanese include broader guidelines that could have triggered high-level briefings sooner for senior federal government figures.

In 2017 when an attempt at Sydney airport to smuggle a bomb on board an Etihad flight bound for the Middle East failed, then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was informed immediately and talked publicly about when he was briefed as well as the ongoing ­investigation. He ordered an inquiry into the way the security threat was handled and changed procedures. After the fatal Hilton Hotel bombings during the Fraser government years, a royal commission was ordered to investigate the terror attacks.

Asked by Mr Dutton in question time about when he was told about the terror plot, Mr Albanese accused the Coalition of playing “political games”.

“You know what the Australian people want to know? They want to know who is behind this. They want to know who is engaged in anti-Semitic attacks,” he said.

“They want to know … where that trail leads. They want intelligence agencies to be able to do that work without political interference, without political games. That is what they want here.”

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said Mr Albanese’s argument that the caravan incident was an “ongoing investigation” implied Mr Minns had compromised the case by revealing when he was briefed.