LISA WILKINSON:
Prime Minister Tony Abbott joins us now. Good morning to you, Mr Abbott.
PRIME MINISTER:
Morning Lisa.
LISA WILKINSON:
Prime Minister, can you confirm for us these reports this morning that you and other senior government officials have been targeted for potential attacks?
PRIME MINISTER:
The whole country, I regret to say, is at risk but I am confident in the professionalism of our police and security forces. I guess the messages that I have got for people today are, first, that the safety of the community is the Government’s highest priority. Second, that this is about crime, it’s not about any particular religion or community. Third, the best way to deal with this is for people to simply to go about their business as usual.
LISA WILKINSON:
Prime Minister, can we just confirm whether or not there is intelligence that exists that you personally and other senior Government officials have been targeted by extremists.
PRIME MINISTER:
There is chatter; there has been chatter, amongst these networks of targeting government people. There is no doubt about that. That is why we are in the process of upgrading security at Parliament House in Canberra; that is why we are in the process of putting the Australian Federal Police in charge, not just of external security, but also of internal security in Parliament House.
LISA WILKINSON:
Just talking about Parliament House being singled out for potential attacks, it is also understood that it has been scoped?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, there has been a review of the security of the building and one of the first consequences of the review of security has been moves to put the Australian Federal Police back in charge of internal as well as external security.
LISA WILKINSON:
Will that be happening immediately?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes it will be happening almost immediately.
LISA WILKINSON:
Because, of course, today there is a whole swag of people going there to work, including government officials, journalists and the public. It is a very popular spot for school excursions. How safe is Parliament House right now for the public to enter that building?
PRIME MINISTER:
Our country is as safe as the professionalism of our police and security agencies, as the vigilance of government, as the decency and steadfastness of our people can make it. Which is to say it is a safe country but we have to be aware that there are people, even here in Australia, who would do us harm. There are networks here in Australia of people who support the work of the ISIL death cult in the Middle East and what we have seen in the last few days is an order from a senior Australian ISIL operative in Syria to his networks back here in Australia to conduct demonstration attacks, demonstration executions, if you like, and that is why we saw a very large anti-terror operation on the streets of Sydney yesterday.
LISA WILKINSON:
Prime Minister, have those who were detected making those threats against you and other government officials and Parliament House, were they detained in yesterday’s raids or are these separate people and separate threats?
PRIME MINISTER:
There are a number of networks but there is one key individual, an Australian in Syria, operating with ISIL and this particular individual is certainly sending very strong orders back to his networks of followers here in Australia. That is why the police acted swiftly and decisively yesterday to ensure that those networks are disrupted.
LISA WILKINSON:
So, it sounds like there are going to me more raids?
PRIME MINISTER:
There are ongoing inquiries, obviously, we are in a heightened state of vigilance and as soon as the police and security agencies have evidence that any activity is likely, they will act, they will act swiftly and surely and determinately.
LISA WILKINSON:
Yesterday’s raids uncovered a plot for random beheadings in a public place for the purpose of publicising IS; there was talk of a mall massacre. How far off did you understand these plots to be from taking place?
PRIME MINISTER:
The advice of our police and security agencies was that attacks of this nature could take place within days, that is why they acted with great determination and resolution to ensure that the individuals who we thought were prepared and ready and intending to conduct these attacks were disrupted.
LISA WILKINSON:
Two men have been charged over yesterday’s raids, what has happened to all the others who were taken into custody and questioned.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, some of them remain in custody; others are the subject of ongoing inquiries and investigations. There is no doubt that there are small networks of people in this country who are in regular contact with ISIL operatives, senior ISIL operatives in Syria and Iraq who would do us harm if they could and that is why it is important that our police and security agencies stay at least one step ahead of them. I have great confidence in the professionalism and the commitment and the skill and the capacity of our police and security agencies.
LISA WILKINSON:
Prime Minister, you would be aware that hundreds of people marched through the Sydney suburb of Lakemba last night saying that police had terrorised innocent people. Are you at all concerned that these raids might alienate some Muslims and move them towards the cause of IS?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the point I make is that it was quite a small demonstration last night. The vast majority of Australian Muslims are absolutely first class Australians, they are valued and appreciated members of the Australian community and as my friend Prime Minister Najib of Malaysia said recently, the kind of terrorist attacks that we have seen in the Middle East and the kind of attacks which it seems are in preparation elsewhere are against God, they are against religion and they are against our common humanity.
LISA WILKINSON:
Just finally Mr Abbott you have farewelled Australian troops in Newcastle yesterday heading off to Iraq, the White House has now admitted that this is a war. You have sent off hardware including Super Hornets which are not normally needed for a humanitarian mission, the Chief of Defence said yesterday that our personnel will be working in an advisory capacity on the battlefield and they will go, “outside the wire” if required. Prime Minister, surely now we must admit we are at war.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we are well and truly prepared for combat operations inside Iraq. We’ve got a highly capable air element which is on its way to the Middle East. We’ve got up to 200 Special Forces who are ready to act as military advisers to the Iraqi security forces and to the Peshmerga who may be called upon to act as tactical air controllers for our air element.
So, we are well and truly ready for combat operations in Iraq because this conflict is reaching out to us. As we saw on the streets of Sydney yesterday, this conflict is reaching out to us and by having the capability of disrupting and degrading ISIL operations in the Middle East we help to keep Australia safe.
LISA WILKINSON:
Are we ready for war?
PRIME MINISTER:
We are ready to do what we must as a Government and as a nation to keep our country safe.
LISA WILKINSON:
Including being at war?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, including deploying military forces in the Middle East to disrupt and degrade the activities of the ISIL death cult.
LISA WILKINSON:
Ok, Prime Minister we will leave it there. Thanks very much for your time this morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thanks, Lisa.
[ends]