Peter Dutton reveals ‘working theory’ on Bourke St attacker

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has called for the public to remain vigilant in the wake of the Melbourne terror attack.

Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton briefs the media about Friday’s terror attack on Bourke Street in Melbourne. Picture: AAP

The Islamic community has been urged to dob in a jihadi to help ­security agencies prevent lone-wolf terror attacks.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton called for the ­Islamic community and others to remain vigilant and co-operative in the wake of the Melbourne terror attack on Friday.

Mr Dutton said that with more than 400 people on the terror watch list, Australians needed to unite to ensure everything could be done to help the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and others do their job.

He said the government and ­security forces would review the way they had been monitoring Melbourne terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 30, after it emerged he had been on the terror watch list.

The Australian Federal Police at the weekend said he had not been monitored at the time he killed a man and stabbed two ­others in Melbourne because there had been no disturbing signs to suggest he was planning an attack.

He was shot and killed by police on Friday during his knife attack.

Mr Dutton said: “My plea is to people within particularly the ­Islamic community but across society that if you have information, if you see ­behaviour of an individual or family member, someone in a workplace, that caused you concern, provide that information because it may lead to somebody not going to Bourke Street mall or not committing an offence that results in loss of life.’’

New CCTV footage shows a security guard being stabbed in the neck by assailant Hassan Khalif Shire Ali during the Bourke St attack. Picture: Nine News

He said more than 400 people were subject to monitoring and there were particular issues with soft targets that were pursued by would-be jihadists with a low level of sophistication.

Mr Dutton said at the early stage of the investigation, it ­appeared the Melbourne attack was not directly related to organisations such as Islamic State but was inspired from within.

“The working theory at the moment is that this is a case of a person downloading information or (having an affiliation) in his own mind,” Mr Dutton said.

The Home Affairs Minister said it was tough to head off all ­attacks: 14 had been prevented but seven had resulted in serious adverse results and he said Shire Ali had been spoken to by counter-­terrorism authorities in the past.

“These are very difficult circumstances to stop,’’ he said. “Yes, he has been spoken to by ASIO and other agencies before.

Police confront Shire Ali.

“There was no evidence … that any attack was imminent.”

The Australian National Board of Imams welcomed the message, but said it was “nothing new” and that the bulk of the Muslim community was already working hard to let authorities know of terror threats when they suspected something.

“The Muslim community has been, and will be, taking a serious role in combating terrorism,” Board of Imams Victorian spokesman Sheik Muhammad Saleem said.

“I want to point out what former attorney-general George Brandis said: it is the members of the families who have informed authorities of terror plots in the past, and without their information we would not have been successful in combating terrorism in Australia in any way.

“So what Peter Dutton said is not new — it’s already happening.

“People are seriously talking about this in the community.’’

Shire Ali’s passport was cancelled in 2015 after authorities had discovered that he was planning to travel to Syria to fight.

The terror attack was the third major violent incident to ­affect Melbourne’s CBD in two years.