Home Affairs Minister Karen ­Andrews to seek new powers for terrorist lockdown

Home Affairs Minister Karen ­Andrews will seek to increase powers for security agencies and courts to keep terrorists in prison.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews will say ‘some individuals are so committed to doing us harm they cannot be deradicalised’. Picture: Getty Images

Home Affairs Minister Karen ­Andrews will seek to increase powers for security agencies and courts to keep high-risk terrorists in prison or monitor them on ­release and ramp up deradicalisation programs to stop violent ­extremism “before it manifests in an attack”.

Ms Andrews will use a major speech on Monday to outline her counter-terrorism priorities and warn of ongoing risks posed by terrorists in the prison system, ­citing overseas examples where released extremists have committed terror attacks.

The Home Affairs Minister, who replaced Peter Dutton in March, will also speak about the potential for Afghanistan to ­become a safe haven for terrorists again after the Taliban’s re-­emergence.

“As we recently saw in Auckland, some individuals are so committed to doing us harm they cannot be deradicalised,” Ms ­Andrews will say.

“And as we witnessed in the 2019 London Bridge and 2020 Streatham attacks in the United Kingdom, convicted terrorist ­offenders can pose a very real threat to the community at the conclusion of their sentence.

“In the case of the Streatham attack, it occurred in the mere days/weeks following the ­offender’s release from prison. In Australia, there are 51 offenders serving jail sentences for terrorist offences and another 32 before the courts.”

The terrorism warning comes ahead of Scott Morrison’s trip to Washington this month for the first face-to-face quadrilateral ­security dialogue meeting, which will focus on regional security ­issues and rising geostrategic competition.

Speaking at an Australian Strategic Policy Institute webinar on the road from 9/11, Ms Andrews will address the impending release of high-risk terror offenders and declare it one of her priority issues.

Abdul Nacer Benbrika, who was convicted of serious terrorism offences and sentenced to 15 years jail after Operation Pendennis foiled a major terror plot, is scheduled to have his continuing detention order reviewed on November 16.

Ms Andrews will say that “with several of these offenders reaching the conclusion of their prison sentences in the next few years, the need for effective risk-­management measures to keep our community safe is greater than ever”.

With the national terrorism threat level listed as “probable”, Ms Andrews will convene a ­national meeting of police and prison commissioners and ministers to combat terror threats linked to rising extremism during the pandemic, the dark web and Afghanistan becoming a safe haven for terrorist cells.

The meeting will focus on ongoing threats amid a heightened global alert coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and increasing Covid-inspired extremism.

“Fuelled by the dark web, ­religiously motivated and ideologically motivated individuals and groups here in Australia do mean us harm and are planning acts of violence,” she will say.

“The changing situation in ­Afghanistan presents a serious concern – with the Taliban in ­control, Afghanistan may once again became an international safe haven for terrorist networks and cells. Given these significant developments, the time is right for ministers to gather and ensure we are all taking the steps needed to protect Australians.”

In response to the threat of ­extremists leaving prison, the Morrison government has put legislation into the parliament giving Ms Andrews powers to apply for a new extended supervision order allowing courts to impose “tailored supervisory conditions specific to the risk posed by the terrorist offender if released into the community”.

Ms Andrews will say the legislation broadens “the range of tools available to address the risk posed by convicted terrorist offenders, and gives our agencies the authorities and the information they need to keep Australians safe”. “It’s not easy to ask someone to put themselves in harm’s way – to watch over, interact with, or arrest a person who we know is planning to do us violence – it’s even harder to actually do it,” she will say. To those we ask of that, I say: ‘this government has your back’.”

Countering violent extremism – which became a top priority for the Coalition during the rise of Islamic State when 230 Australians travelled to conflict zones – will be stepped up.

Ms Andrews will say the need for countering violent extremism programs “has never been clearer”.

“Since September 2014, when the national terrorism threat level was raised, 140 people have been charged as a result of 67 counter-terrorism related operations around Australia,” she will say. “There have been nine attacks and 21 major disruption operations.

“As a government, we are committed to addressing the full spectrum of extremist threats, regardless of political, religious, social, cultural or issue-specific ideology.

“Our CVE initiatives address terrorist and extremist violence by intervening early with a range of vulnerable communities and at-risk individuals, both before and after they face a court or a prison sentence.”