Threat of terrorism ‘still a clear and present danger’, says Scott Morrison

Scott Morrison has committed Australia to fighting for peace and defending its ‘fragile’ freedom in the face of terrorism, as officials said the risk of ­attack remained high.

Hijacked United Airlines flight 175 crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001. Picture: Getty Images

Scott Morrison has committed Australia to fighting for peace and defending its “fragile” freedom in the face of terrorism two decades on from 9/11, as officials put the country on alert that the risk of ­attack remained high.

The Prime Minister’s pledge on the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks that triggered the use of the ANZUS Treaty for the first time came as Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews warned of extremist threats in sporting arenas, shopping malls, airports and other public places as Covid-19 restrictions lift.

Marking the September 11 ­anniversary and two-decade long Afghanistan conflict, Mr Morrison said the horrors of 9/11 reminds “us that we can never take our peace, our freedom and our way of life for granted”.

“As Ronald Reagan said, (freedom) ‘must be fought for and ­defended constantly by each generation’. That day was an attack on free peoples everywhere. It was an attack on our way of life and the values of liberal democracy,” Mr Morrison, writing in The Weekend Australian, said.

“Despite the pain inflicted on that day, the terrorists ultimately failed in their attempts to crush our resolve and change our way of life.”

On the morning of September 11, 2001, four commercial flights were hijacked by al-Qa’ida operatives in the US, smashing into the north and south towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, the Pentagon in Washington and a field in southern Pennsylvania after passengers and crew confronted the hijackers. Almost 3000 people were killed in the most lethal foreign attack on US soil. Ten Australians were killed.

One month later Operation Enduring Freedom was launched to prevent the Taliban regime in Afghanistan from providing safe haven to al-Qa’ida, kickstarting the two-decade conflict that would go on to claim the lives of 41 Australian soldiers.

Mr Morrison said Australia ­remained committed to standing with “our partners and allies – ­especially the US – as we work ­together for a world that favours freedom”.

He also defended the country’s involvement in the Afghanistan war but conceded the “seeds of hope (for the Afghan people) are now very uncertain”. “When the Taliban refused to hand over al-Qa’ida terrorists, we supported a US-led operation to hunt down Osama bin Laden and eliminate the capacity to stage more attacks against the West from Afghanistan,” he said.

“Together with the international community, we also laboured long and hard to help the Afghan people secure a better ­future. Sadly, the fruits from those seeds of hope are now very uncertain. But let us never doubt that our cause was, and always will be, a just one.”

Honouring the 41 Australians who died in Afghanistan, Mr Morrison said “on this day we rededicate Australia to the cause of peace and freedom and to the constant vigilance required to deny the threat of terror”.

Amid heightened security awareness across the globe after the exit from Afghanistan, the September 11 anniversary and rising extremism during the pandemic, Ms Andrews warned of the “spectre of terrorism” in public places when Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns lifted.

Writing for The Weekend Australian online, Ms Andrews said it was a “sad reality that terrorism is a real and enduring threat to Australians, to our way of life and to our national social cohesion”.

“As Australia’s national plan sees us emerge from prolonged lockdowns we will once again gather in crowds. Sporting arenas, shopping malls, airports, and other iconic locations will once more need to contend with the spectre of terrorism,” Ms Andrews wrote.

“We all look forward to ­returning to those freedoms, and that way of life, after the challenges of the past 18 months; but we cannot take our safety for granted. The Australian government and our security and intelligence agencies are taking the threat seriously; I encourage all Australians to do the same.”

Following an attack on seven shoppers in Auckland last week by an ISIS-inspired extremist, Ms Andrews said while national ­attention had been on Covid-19, “we cannot be complacent about terrorism”.

“The national terrorism threat level remains at ‘probable’. Individuals, groups, and ideologies – both old and new – continue to plot and fantasise about doing us harm,” she wrote.

“Sadly, it’s a wide and diverse list: religiously and ideologically motivated extremists, violent ‘incel’ misogynists, extreme Covid-conspiracy theorists, and those driven to violence by online misinformation.

“With little to no warning, any person motivated by hate and ­extremism, and holding a knife and smart phone, can cause shockwaves around the world. That’s why ASIO assesses ‘lone actor attacks’ – such as we saw in Auckland, on Bourke Street, and at the Lindt cafe – are the type of terrorism we are most likely to experience in Australia.

“I don’t say this to scare – rather, to ensure we’re clear-eyed about the threat.”

The US Department of Homeland Security issued a ­national terrorism alert on August 13, warning of ongoing threats posed by the anniversary of the September 11 attacks and that Covid-19 restrictions and ­religious holidays could be catalysts for “acts of targeted violence”.

The alert said threats included “those posed by domestic terrorists, individuals and groups engaged in grievance-based violence, and those inspired or motivated by foreign terrorists and other malign foreign influences”.

Ms Andrews said while Australia had avoided a mass casualty terrorist attack since September 11, “we certainly have not forgotten” attacks in New York, Bali, London, Nice, Boston and Sydney.

The minister this week said the Morrison ­government was pursuing new legislation to “protect Australians from high-risk terrorist ­offenders following their release from prison”.