Australian way are used against us. The government is required to respond to these new threats and to make sure that our agencies have the resources and the powers that they need to do so. Thats why weve committed 630 million for our counterterrorism package, as well as introducing to the Parliament Three trenches of legislation that strengthens the ability of our agencies such as the Australian Federal police to deal with these increased threats. Were also working very hard with vulnerable communities to counter violent ideologies and encourage social harmony. Our Law Enforcement and intelligence communities have for years since 9 11 been very effective about keeping australia and australians safe. But we need to constantly refine the way they operate and seek to make improvements when we can. As many in this room know today. The Prime Minister has been very focussed on this challenge and hes shown great leadership in these areas. His government takes National Security seriously. Whether its facing the threat of homegrown extremism or dealing with the mood of our citizens on mh17. The safety and security of the australian population is a top priority of this government and im very pleased to be able to welcome the Prime Minister to the Australian FederalPolice Headquarters and to make this statement today. [ applause ] thanks. Its great to be here at the Australian Federal police, good to be in the companies of so many of my parliamentary colleagues and in the company of so many of the senior people who are responsible for our counterterrorism efforts. Today i want to speak to you about keeping our country safe. I want to speak to you about the threat that we face, the work done already to keep you as safe as we humanly can, and the things still needed to prevent further terrorist attacks. Today my colleagues and i are joined by representatives of the Australian Federal police, the Australian Defense force and agencies like crimtrack which helps police and other Law Enforcement bodies to share information. The men and women in this room are on the front line of australias fight against terrorism. There is no greater responsibility on me, on the government than keeping you safe. We know that these are testing times for everyone here and for everyone stworn protect democratic freedoms. The terrorist threat is rising at home and abroad and is becoming harder to combat. Weve seen on our tv screens and in our newspapers the evidence with a new dark age that has settled over syria and iraq. We have and seen the beheadings, the mass executions, the crucifixes and the sexual slavery in the name of religion. There is no grievance here that can be addressed. Theres no cause here that can be satisfied. Its the demand to submit or die. Weve seen our fellow australian, people born and bred we believed, to live and let live succumb to the lure of this death cult. Weve heard the exhortation of their socalled caliphate to kill all or any of the unbeliever s unbelievers and we know that this message of the most primitive savagery is being spread through most sophisticated modern technology. By any measure the threat to australia is worsening. The number of foreign fighters is up. The number of known sympathizers of extremism is up. The number of potential homegrown terrorists is rising. The number of serious investigations continues to increase. During 2014 the government consulted with our experts, many of whom are in this room today. We talked with our allies and we worked with the opposition to improve australias preparedness for any eventuality. Last september the National Terrorist threat level was lifted to high, which means that a terrorist attack is likely. Critics said we were exaggerating. But since then weve witnessed the frenzied attack on two Police Officers in melbourne and the horror of the Martin Police siege. 20 people have been arrested and charged as a result of six Counterterrorism Operations conducted around australia. This thats onethird of all the terrorism related arrests since 2001 within the space of justice six months. So the judgment to lift the Terror Threat level was correct. In proclaiming this caliphate, the islamist death cult has declared war on the world. Not only has australia suffered at the hands of terrorists but so have canada france, denmark iraq egypt libya nigeria, japan, jordan, the United Kingdom and the united states. And we have seen the tactics of terrorists evolve in the decade after 9 11 our agencies disrupted elaborate conspiracies to attack our shrek tristy supplies, the grand final of the mcg and the Army Barracks in sydney. Now in addition to the larger more complex plots that tipified the post 9 11 world such as the atrocities in bali and london, sick individuals are acting on the caliphates instructions to seize people at random and kill them. Todays terrorism requires little more than a camera phone a knife and a victim. These lone actor attacks are not new but they do pose a unique set of problems. All too often alienated and unhappy people brood quietly feeling persecuted and looking for meaning. They selfradicalize online. Then they plan attacks which require little preparation, training or capability a short lead time from the moment they disside theyre going to strike and then undertake the attack makes it hard to disrupt their activities. Police do not have the luxury to watch and wait. They apply their best judgment and do so aware that the armchair critics will find fault. Still, police act because they have enough facts to make informed judgment ss some of these may not result in prosecutions but, frankly id rather lose a case than lose a life. The protection of life must always rank ahead of the prospects in the successful prosecution. The arrest of two men in sydney earlier this month whod already recorded a preattack message is just one example of how quickly a threat can develop. And i should add without our foreign fighters legislation its highly unlikely that these arrests could have been made. This new terrorist environment is uniquely shaped by the way that extremist ideology cans now spread online. Every single day the islamist death cult and its supporters churn out up to 100,000 social media messages in a variety of languages, often they are slick and wellproduced. Thats the contagion thats infecting people and grooming them for terrorism. Already at least 110 australians have traveled overseas to join the death cult in iraq and syria. At least 20 of them so far are dead. Even if the flow of foreign fighters to syria and iraq stopped today, theres now an australian cohort of hardened jihadists who are intent on radicalizing and influencing others. The number of australians with hands on terrorist experience is now several times larger than it was with those who trained earlier in afghanistan and pakistan and of that group twothirds became involved in terrorist activity back here in australia the signs are ominous. Azo currently has over 400 high priority counterterrorism investigations and thats more than double the number a year ago but we are not alone in facing such challenges. The same phenomenon is evident across europe, in the united states, and in southeast asia. Many of those involved in antiwestern attacks in indonesia over the last decade are now being released from prison. Some neither reformed nor rehabilitated. Australian and indonesian agencies will continue to work closely together to tackle extremist extremists because its in both our interests to do so. In australia and elsewhere this threat of terrorism has become a terrible fact of life that government must do all in its power to combat. So far, this is what weve done. Within weeks of taking office, i asked the attorney general to develop a government response to foreign fighters. Last august, the government invested 630 million in a range of new counterterrorism measures. This funding gives our security agencys the resources they asked for to combat homegrown terrorism and to help prevent australians participating in terrorism overseas. The effects of these new measures are already being felt. Counterterrorism teams now operate at all eight Major International airports. 62 additional biometric screening gates are being fast tracked for passengers at airports to detect and deal with people leaving unforced passports. 49 extra afp members are working in sydney, melbourne and canberra on the foreign fighter threat. Seven new financial analysts have been engaged to help crack down on terrorist financing. A new violent Jihadist Network mapping unit has been created to improve intelligence agencies understanding of the threat facing australia. A Foreign Fighters Task force has been established in the Australian Crime Commission with access to the commissions coercive powers. And last thursday the attorney general announced a series of measures designed to combat terrorist propaganda online. We have legislated to cancel the welfare payments of individuals assessed to be a threat to security. This is not window dressing. As of last september 55 of the 57 australians then fighting with terrorist groups in syria and iraq had been on welfare. We have made it easier to ban terrorist organizations which promote and encourage terrorist acts. We have strengthened the offenses of training with, recruiting for, and funding terrorist organizations. We have made it easier to prosecute foreign fighters by making it illegal to travel to a declared area overseas. Last december we prescribed travel to syrias al Raqqa Province where the death cult is based without a legitimate purpose. We are now looking at listing mosul in nineveh province in iraq which the death cult also controls and we have given asia the power to request an australian passport pending further security assessment and thats happened eight times so far. This year we will consider what further legislation is needed to combat terrorism and keep australians safe but we can not do it alone. The government is working with local communities to combat violent extremism. I acknowledge the readiness of parents, siblings and Community Leaders to let the police know about people they think are falling under the death cults spell our agencies could not help without their help. By acknowledging, too, the cooperation that the commonwealth enjoys with all the states and territories on counterterrorism issues, that cooperation was highlighted by the martin place siege yesterday we released the martin place siege joint commonwealth New South Wales review. What we learned was that there were no major filings of intelligence or process in the leadup to martin place. But there is much more to do. Its clear that in too many instances the threshold for action was set to high and that the only beneficiary of that was the Martin Police murderer himself. For too long we have given those who might be a threat to our country the benefit of the doubt the perpetrator was given the benefit of the doubt when he applied far visa. He was given the benefit of the doubt for residency and citizen ship he was given the benefit of the doubt at center link. He was given the benefit of the doubt when he applied for legal aid and in the courts theres been bail when there should have been jail. This report marks a line in the sand. There is always a tradeoff between the rights of an individual and the safety of our community. But we will never sacrifice our freedoms in order to defend them but we will not let our enemies exploit our decency either. If immigration and Border Protection faces a chase to led in or keep out people with security questions over them we should choose to keep them out. If theres a choice between latitude for suspects or more powers to police and security agencies, more often we should choose to support our agencies. And if we can stop hate preachers from grooming gullible young people for terrorism, we should. We have already made a start on removing the benefit of the doubt for people who are taking advantage of us. Weve introduced legislation to refuse a protection visa to people who destroyed evidence of their identity and the same applies if you present a bonus document. This bill, im afraid, is currently stalled in the senate. Its reasonable its in our countrys best interests and i call on all senators to support it. The governments bill being reviewed by the particle system the vital next step in giving our agency the tools to keep australia safe. Access to metadata is the Common Element to most successful counterterrorism investigations. Its essential in fighting most major crimes including the most abhorrent of all crimes against children. Again, i call on the parliament to support this imimportant legislation. We need to give our agencies these powers to protect our community. Today i am releasing the count terrorism review that the government commissioned last august. This review finds that we face a new longterm era of heightened terrorism threat with a much more significant homegrown element. While there is t review did not recommend major structural changes, it did recommend strengthening our counterterrorism strategy and improving our cooperation with atrisk communities. The government will carefully consider the findings and act as quickly as possible but in fact, some recommendations have already been acted upon. We will ensure that returning foreignkzq n fighters are prosecuted or closely monitored using strengthened control orders. We will appoint a National Counterterrorism coordinator. We want to bring the same drive, focus, and results to our counterterrorism efforts thats worked so well in operation sovereign borders and operation bring them home. Now, over recent months ive spent many many hours listening to australians from all walks of life. Clearly people are anxious about the National Security threats we face. And many are angry. Theyre very angry because all too often this threat comes from someone who has enjoyed the hospitality and the generosity of the australian people. When it comes to someone like the martin place murderer people feel like we have been taken mugs. Australian citizenship is an extraordinary privilege that should involve a solemn and life long commitment to australia. People who come to this country are free to live as they choose provided by provided by they dont steal that same freedom from others. We are one of the most diverse nations on earth and celebrating that is at the heart of what it means to be an australian. We are a country built on immigration and are much the richer for it. Always australia will continue to welcome people who want to make this country their home. We will help them and support them to settle in, but this is not a oneway street. Those who come here must be as open and as accepting of their adopted country as we are of them. Those who live here must be as tolerant of others as we are of them. No one should live in our country while denying our values or rejecting the very idea of a free and open society. Its worth recalling the citizenship pledge that all of us have been encouraged to recite. I pledge my commitment to australia and its people whose democratic believes i share whose rights and liberties i respect, and whose laws i will uphold and obey. This has to mean something. Especially now that we face a how many grown threat from people who do reject our values today i am announcing that the government will look at new measures to strengthen immigration laws as well as new options for dealing with australian citizens who are involved in terrorism. We can not allow bad people to use our good nature against us. The government will develop amendments to the australian citizenship act so that we can revoke or suspend australian citizenship in the case of duel nationals. It has long been the case that people who fight against australia forfeit their citizenship. So australians who take up arms with terrorist groups especially while Australian Military personnel are engaged in afghanistan and iraq have sided against our country and should be treated accordingly. For australian nationals we are examining suspending some of the privileges of citizenship for individuals involved in terrorism. These could include restricting the ability to leave or return to australia and access to Consular Services overseas as well as access to welfare payments. We will also clamp down on those organizations that incite religious or racial hatred. No one should make excuses for islamist fanatics in the middle east or their imitators here in australia. For too long, successive governments have been concerned about organizations that breed hatred and sometimes incite violence. These organizations and individuals blatantly spreading discord and division such as hizb uttahrir should not do so with impunity. Today i can confirm the government will be taking action against hate preachers. This includes enforcing our strengthened terrorism advocacy laws. It includes new programs to challenge terrorist propaganda and to provide alternative online material based on australian values. And it will include stronger prohibitions on vilifying intimidating, or inciting hatred. These changes should empower Community Members to directly challenge terrorist propaganda. Now, ive often heard western leaders describe islam as a religion of peace. I wish more Muslim Leaders would say that more often and mean it. Ive often cited Prime Minister najib of malaysia who has described the islamist death cult as against god, against islam and against our common humanity. In january, president al sisi told the imams at Egypts Al Azhar university that islam needed a religious revolution to sw