PRIME MINISTER:
Good afternoon. I'm here with the Minister for Justice, the Minister Assisting me on Counter-Terrorism, Michael Keenan, and Andrew Colvin, the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police.
This morning, the Australian Federal Police arrested a 42-year-old man in the New South Wales town of Young, in relation to terrorism offences. This operation does not relate to any planned terrorist attack in Australia.
Police will allege that the man arrested has sought to advise ISIL on how to develop high-tech weapons capability. This highlights that terrorism, support for terrorist groups, and Islamist extremism is not limited to our major cities.
We've seen Australians arrested for preparations to carry out terrorist acts, or providing financial assistance to terror groups. We've seen Australians travel to the conflict zone to take up arms for ISIL, become suicide bombers, and cannon fodder. We've seen professionals, such as doctors, join the terrorist organisation.
Here, the police will allege that this individual, in a regional centre, acted with intent to provide ISIL with the capability, with the technical capability, and high-tech capability to detect and develop missiles.
It once again shows that we all need to be very vigilant. This is yet another example of the excellent work the men and women of the Australian Federal Police and all our security agencies are doing in identifying and disrupting alleged assistance to ISIL.
Now I'm advised, and the Minister and the Commissioner will speak about this in a moment, that the evidence uncovered to date does not involve immediate domestic attack planning.
But it is yet another reminder of the enduring threat we face from Islamist terrorism. ISIL is being rolled back in Iraq and Syria and the men and women of the Australian Defence Force are playing a very substantial role in the defeat of ISIL in the field and the destruction of their so-called caliphate. We should always be very proud of their efforts, and grateful for what they do, putting themselves in harm's way, in our nation's defence and standing up for our values.
However, as I've said before, in the short-term, ISIL's weakness in the field could result in the terrorist group attempting to carry out more attacks across the world, in an attempt to maintain support.
As you know, the terrorism threat level in Australia was elevated to ‘probable’ in September 2014 and it remains at that level today. Since that time, we've seen four terrorist attacks in Australia, 12 successfully disrupted terrorist attacks, major disruption operations. 61 people have been charged as a result of 26 counter-terrorism operations around Australia.
It seems almost daily that we see around the world the global threat of terrorism, with recent attacks and attempted attacks in Pakistan, Indonesia, Germany, Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and elsewhere.
That is why my Government's top priority is to keep Australians safe and to ensure our agencies have the powers that they need to do so.
Islamist terrorism is a global challenge that threatens us all. But we must not be cowed by the terrorists.
They want to divide us. They want us to turn on each other. We will not let them succeed.
As always, the support and the cooperation of Australian Muslim communities, the vast majority of whom are law-abiding, patriotic Australians, is absolutely vital in our common struggle against extremism and terrorism.
We will continue to defy these terrorists. We will continue to go about our lives, as we always have, and ensure Australia remains the most successful multicultural nation in the world.
Our security and police agencies have again done their job. Their great work, continuing work, of investigation and disruption, and we thank them, Commissioner, and all of your team in the Australian Federal Police, the state and territory police forces, and our security and intelligence agencies, working 24/7 to keep us safe.
We were able to bring this people to justice using the counter-terrorism laws that have been strengthened by the Coalition.
The Minister for Justice will speak about that in some detail in a moment.
But let me finish by saying, just as we should defy the terrorists by going about our lives in the normal way, we should also be alert. If we see or hear something that is of concern, that could be relevant to national security, call the national security hotline: 1800 123 400. Speak up. Let our security agencies, let our police agencies, know.
We rely on good intelligence from the community to enable those who work night and day to keep us safe to be informed, to be able to do their job.
I will now ask the Minister to speak about the way in which the Coalition has recognised the evolving terrorism environment and strengthened our laws, so that our agencies can always be up to date with modern laws, 21st century laws, that enable them to deal and defeat these threats to our security. Minister.
MINISTER FOR JUSTICE:
Well, thank you, Prime Minister. Can I join with you in commending the Australian Federal Police, today acting in conjunction with New South Wales Police, for their swift action, which has, again, kept the Australian community safe. Now, the arrest today is the result of an 18-month-long operation. It reminds us that whether you are in a capital city, planning an attack on home soil, or whether you are in a small country town, trying to assist the terrorist state in the Middle East, you will get caught.
We are protected by the greatest law enforcement agencies and intelligence community in the world. As a Government, over the past two and a half years, we have acted hand-in-glove with them to give them what is required to protect us from a resurgence of Islamic terrorism.
In the past two years, we've provided the Australian Federal Police and other security agencies with a record $1.3 billion worth of extra investment. We've also introduced eight packages of counter-terrorism legislation, the most significant national security reform in a generation, changes that specifically address the changed operating environment that has resulted from the rise of ISIL in Syria and Iraq.
These laws give our agencies unprecedented power to prevent terrorist attacks. We've modernised their ability to collect intelligence. We've stopped extremists, or we've made it illegal for extremists to go and train and fight in overseas conflicts. We've introduced a 10-year jail term for people going into declared areas controlled by terrorists, in Iraq and Syria. We've strengthened the control order regime which allows us to monitor and limit where suspects can go and who they associate with. We've reduced the arrest threshold and this is very important, because we've used it to stop domestic terror attacks. We reduced the arrest threshold so our police can take action earlier. We've enabled the police to access metadata for a period of two years, which is a vital investigatory tool that they use. We've made it possible to cancel the citizenship of convicted terrorists to exclude them from the country and most recently we've introduced a regime of post-sentence detention, so for convicted terrorists who still present a danger to the community, they will remain in prison.
Now we can't provide 100 per cent blanket coverage against terrorist attacks. But the efforts here in Australia are a model for what a country should do to protect its citizens in what is a deteriorating national security environment globally.
Now the charges in this case, which are expected to be laid are serious foreign incursion offences and because of the new tougher penalties we have, these charges will now attract a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
We will continue to work hand-in-glove with the Australian Federal Police and with our other security agencies, to give them what they require to deal with this security threat in what remains a very difficult security environment for Australia and a very difficult security environment globally.
I'm now going to ask the Commissioner to give you a few more details about today's operation.
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
Thanks very much, Prime Minister, thank you Ministers, good afternoon all. I'm joined, as well, by Assistant Commissioner Ian McCartney. Ian is the Assistant Commissioner in charge of counter-terrorism for the AFP.
As you’ve heard, Operation Marksburg is an 18-month long investigation that we've done out of our Canberra based counter-terrorism team and we've conducted it in consultation and cooperation with New South Wales Police. Today it went to partial resolution and we want to advise the public of those outcomes.
Following search warrants at a residence in the New South Wales town of Young, we have arrested and will charge a 42-year-old man. He will be charged with a number of offences, which include two serious foreign incursion offences under the Commonwealth Criminal Code which carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. With these offences, we will allege he has utilised the internet to perform services for ISIL, activities in the Syria and Iraq conflict, from Australia in the following ways.
Firstly, by researching and designing a laser warning device to help warn against incoming guided munitions used by coalition forces in Syria and Iraq. Secondly, we will also allege that he has been researching, designing and modelling systems to assist ISIL's efforts to develop their own long-range guided missile capabilities.
Now, there's a couple of important messages that I just want to leave you with. It's extremely concerning, of course, and disturbing for police that we're continuing to see Australians seeking out and providing support to these violent extremist groups. The charges we will lay today against this man are serious. However, as you've already heard from the Prime Minister and the Minister, it's important to note that we are not alleging that this man was involved in any domestic attack planning here in Australia.
Unfortunately, this arrest today highlights the global nature of terrorism and the importance of community vigilance. We rely very heavily on the community to report any information to authorities, to police, to our security agencies, so that we can continue to break these networks apart.
Action today is the result of very smart policing and good detective work over a long period of time. I would like to thank the investigators involved in the work. They worked very long hours to bring this matter to a resolution. While the man will today be charged for some very serious offences, the matter is still ongoing, but I want to reassure the Australian public that all Australian police and our security and our partners, work very hard to look after their safety.
JOURNALIST:
The very fact that we are in the Blue Room, we have the Prime Minister here, we have the Justice Minister and the AFP Commissioner. We trust that you are taking this very seriously, but can you tell us about this man? Whether he had the ability or expertise to indeed help ISIL overseas or whether he was just some sort of misguided amateur? Did he work for a government agency at any point?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
PM, I'll take that. Firstly, no, we don't believe he has ever worked for a government agency. The man is technically trained I believe, as an electrician. In terms of the first part of your question, we will be alleging that the material that he was intending to provide to ISIL, the research that he was doing, was credible.
JOURNALIST:
How sophisticated was it? How advanced in the planning? You say the investigation has been going on for 18 months and was there a tip-off from the public? Is that how you got onto him?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
Look it’s a part of a much broader investigation so no, this was not a tip-off from the public. In terms of the advice that he has been providing, we will allege it was fairly sophisticated and well-planned, yes.
JOURNALIST:
Commissioner, is the man a dual citizen, or is he Australian born or is he middle eastern born?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
Australian born. Australian citizen.
JOURNALIST:
When and where will he appear in court?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
We expect he will appear some time later today in Young local court.
JOURNALIST:
How do you believe that the terror network in ISIL first made contact with him? Did he reach out to them? Or, what was the nature of the communication?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
Look, I want to be a little bit careful. This is an ongoing matter and we believe he has networks and contacts in ISIL - not necessarily just in the conflict zones but in other parts of the world as well and he has been relying on them to pass this information on.
JOURNALIST:
Are the people he is communicating with who are in ISIL, were they Australians? Are they believed to be Australians or hold dual citizenship?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
No.
JOURNALIST:
Was he working as an electrician in Young and did he have direct experience in laser technology or in missile technology?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
He worked as an electrician and no direct experience to my knowledge.
JOURNALIST:
Commissioner, AFP officers at the site have been seen using metal detecting devices, wandering around the property, what exactly are they trying to look for on the property?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
As you’d appreciate this is a fairly technical offence and this gentleman is quite technically-minded so we will be doing a complete, thorough, forensic examination of that whole property. It could take hours, if not days, and we will leave no stone unturned in what we're looking for.
JOURNALIST:
Commissioner, did you find any weapons or missile parts or model missiles, model weapons, anything of that sort. Did you seize anything?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
The search warrant is still underway. At this point, no, but I'm not going to go further into what we have and what we haven't found.
JOURNALIST:
Are you aware as to whether he has done any physical testing of these models that you talked about before?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
That’s all going to be subject to the investigation, and the material that we'll ultimately put before the court.
JOURNALIST:
Have you got video footage of him doing any of this?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
No I’m not going to comment on that.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, you made some emphasis of the laws that the Government has changed - eight tranches of anti-terrorism laws. Can you just expand a bit on what laws were relied on here, that the Coalition has done, which enabled this arrest to occur?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'll ask the Minister to speak to that.
MINISTER FOR JUSTICE:
Well, Mark in this case, they’re very serious foreign incursions offences and we've changed the maximum penalty for that from 10 years, to now life imprisonment. A lot of what I was referring to has helped Australia be safe in what has been a very difficult environment. Twelve domestic terrorist attacks have been thwarted over the past two and a half years. That is in large part as a result of the fact that we've worked with our agencies to listen to what they need, to deal with the way this threat has evolved.
Terrorism today is different than it was in 2013 and we needed to completely modernise the system, which will allow our agencies to police it in this new way. That's what we've done.
PRIME MINISTER:
If I could just add to this. We have our counter-terrorism laws under constant review. The threat that we face from Islamist terrorism is increasingly sophisticated, as the use of technology - as will be alleged in this case - and, indeed, the technology that has been used in the field in Iraq and in Syria.
So we have to be very, very keenly aware that our security agencies always have the right resources, the best resources, and the right legislative tools to do the job.
They are constantly under review and I want to thank the Minister and the Attorney-General and I thank the Federal Police Commissioner, too, for the way in which they work so closely together to ensure that Andrew Colvin and his partners in the state and territory police forces and our intelligence agencies and security services, have the tools they need to keep us safe.
JOURNALIST:
We’ve had a lot of debate in this country about laws such as metadata laws. So could you say whether metadata laws were useful in this case, in terms of tracking down this individual? Secondly, was there any information shared from another Government that helped in this case?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
So on the metadata laws, I haven't asked the question specifically about this investigation, because I am absolutely 100 per cent confident that we would have used metadata as part of our investigation. As I said at the time of the debate around that legislation, it is an absolute fundamental principal tool for law enforcement activities.
JOURNALIST:
Commissioner, are you confident this man was acting alone? Are you looking at any of his associates? And what about the geographical region of Young? I understand that this has become an area which police are increasingly looking at? Is there a de-radicalisation program there at the moment?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
We believe he has acted alone in relation to these particular activities, and we don't hold any particular concerns or unreasonable concerns about Young. So I think we should be very careful drawing conclusions about Young.
JOURNALIST:
What ethnicity is he?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
He was born in Australia; he is an Australian citizen.
JOURNALIST:
You were talking about laser devices to distract incoming munitions. What are you talking about? Are you talking about laser pointers to distract incoming laser guided bombs?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
So that's getting into the technicalities of what we will allege at court so I would rather not talk about that now.
JOURNALIST:
Was there a range on the missiles that he was designing?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
Not to my knowledge but that’s a level of technicality that the court will need to put its mind to.
JOURNALIST:
Commissioner, were there any other people at the house? Did he have family there or was he living alone?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
No he had his family in the house.
JOURNALIST:
Children there as well?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
Yes, there were children.
JOURNALIST:
Had he lived in the community for a while?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
I believe he has been in Young for a while.
JOURNALIST:
Had he been receiving payments from ISIL? Or any sort of financial benefit?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
That’s also subject to the ongoing investigation.
JOURNALIST:
And just on that question of David Crowe’s, was there another government involved in the intelligence-gathering process?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
At this stage, I think it’s just best we leave it at Australian-based investigation. We do clearly work with our partners overseas but I don't want to go into details.
JOURNALIST:
Has the man ever been to Iraq or Syria, that you know of or into the vicinity?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
No.
JOURNALIST:
Does he have a passport?
COMMISSIONER OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE:
I'm not personally aware if he has a passport.
PRIME MINISTER:
Okay, thank you very much. Again, the Minister and I, and the Government want to thank the Australian Federal Police, their partners and state and territory police forces and the agencies who look after our security and intelligence that do extraordinary work, just as does the ADF in the field, in keeping us safe.
This threat of Islamist terrorism is one of considerable sophistication, and we need to have the right tools, the strong laws, and the most professional agencies - and we do - to keep Australians safe.
Thank you very much.
[ENDS]