PRIME MINISTER:
Well, again it’s good to be here in the precincts of our Australian War Memorial as we begin to reflect upon the centenary of Anzac. It is great to be here with Dr Nelson the Director of the War Memorial and of course our Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove.
QUESTION:
Just on another topic, British authorities have arrested a 14 year old boy in the UK in connection to the foiled Anzac Day plot here in Melbourne. Do you have any details about that case or comment?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I am not going to go into operational detail. That is something that if it is to be dealt with at all will be dealt with by the Australian Federal Police and the other relevant law enforcement agencies. The point I want to make is that the threat from the Daesh or ISIL death cult, the threat from Islamist extremism is a universal one. The problem is not just something which just exists in Northern Iraq and Eastern Syria. It's not just the beheadings, the crucifixions, the mass executions, the sexual slavery that is taking place there – it's the inspiration that misguided and gullible people right around the world are drawing from this death cult and my message is that the threat is worldwide and that's why the co-operation with those who understand the nature of the threat has got to be worldwide as well.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, UK police are saying or British police are saying it was their intelligence that led to the foiling of the plot in Victoria. Can you confirm that's the case and would Australian authorities have been able to foil it without the UK intelligence?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm not going to go into intelligence matters like operational matters. They are not things that we provide a running commentary on. But obviously, there is the closest possible co-operation between British authorities and Australian authorities between British, Australian, American, Canadian and New Zealanders as part of the Five Eyes partnership.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, is there anything more that we can be doing to counter violent individuals at home; people who have been identified as posing a threat to our way of life?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I think that anyone who wants to interfere with an Anzac Day service is obviously doing something which is utterly alien to Australians. Whatever we think of the policy of the government of the day, whatever views we might have about the merits or otherwise of World War One, the fact is this is part of our foundation story. The spirit of those men, the spirit of those days was a spirit which has breathed over us from then till now and it's something that all Australians have a respect for bordering on reverence.
QUESTION:
Last night Andrew Robb on Q&A called on Muslim leaders to do more in Australia to stop the radicalisation of young people. He said “You have got the problem, it's principally your problem, you have got to show leadership.” Are those comments helpful given that some sectors of the community already feel ostracised?
PRIME MINISTER:
The great thing about Australia, is that we have welcomed people from the four corners of the earth, people from all cultures, religions, ethnicities, backgrounds. We have welcomed them to our country and we have given them the opportunity to become first class citizens. That is the heroism, if you like, in our national story, the fact that people can come here from anywhere and make a better life for themselves and for their children. It's important that people join the team. I've often said that it's important that people join the team and thank God 99.999 per cent of people coming here have.
QUESTION:
Are Muslim leaders failing in their leadership on this issue?
PRIME MINISTER:
The interesting thing about the whole Daesh death cult phenomenon is that it seems to have prompted quite a re-think amidst wide sections of the Muslim world. We have had the really very heroic stand that President al-Sisi of Egypt has adopted. You might remember that back in January, President al-Sisi went to the Al-Azhar university in Cairo, one of the great centres of Islamic scholarship, and said that Islam needed nothing less than a religious revolution that rejected centuries of wrong thinking which had caused this needless conflict in the minds of some between Islam and the rest of the world. So, I think there are signs of hope and encouragement as well as obviously continuing signs for concern.
QUESTION:
What about Jim Molan’s comments Prime Minister? Jim Molan has written today in The Australian saying the UK needs strong border policies. What message do you have to the UK and Europe in regards to keeping their borders safe and stopping these deaths at sea?
PRIME MINISTER:
Plainly, there is a terrible, terrible tragedy unfolding in the Mediterranean right now. We have got hundreds, maybe thousands of people drowning in the attempts to get from Africa to Europe and I suppose we must grieve for the loss but at the same time we must resolve to stop this terrible problem and the only way you can stop the deaths is to stop the people smuggling trade. The only way you can stop the deaths is in fact to stop the boats. That's why it is so urgent that the countries of Europe adopt very strong policies that will end the people smuggling trade across the Mediterranean.
[ends]