Australia to launch new counter-terror strategy

The Australian government will create a national strategy to beat violent extremism and appoint a counter-terrorism co-ordinator to tackle what the prime minister, Tony Abbott, calls a "new, long-term era of heightened terrorism".

He has also flagged an overhaul of the public alert system. The national terror threat has been on high since September last year.

Mr Abbott will today deliver an address to parliament on national security, focusing on the recommendations of a review announced last year into Australia’s counter-terrorism capability.

“The review found that Australia has entered a new, long-term era of heightened terrorism threat, with a much more significant home-grown element,” Mr Abbott will say. “It assesses that the terrorist threat in Australia is rising. On all metrics, the threat to Australia is worsening.

“The number of foreign fighters is increasing, the number of known sympathisers and supporters of extremists is increasing, and the number of potential terrorists, including many who live in our midst, is rising as well,” the address will continue.

“Thousands of young and vulnerable people in the community are susceptible to radicalisation. Terrorists are becoming more adept at evading surveillance.”

About 90 Australians have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join extremist groups, with 30 having already returned to Australia.

Mr Abbott will announce the appointment of a new national counter-terrorism co-ordinator and the creation of a national anti-extremism strategy “to better co-ordinate our efforts to counteract the threats we face including from home grown lone actors and radicalisation in our community”.

The public alert system for terrorist warnings will be simplified, Mr Abbott will say. “The government will develop a new system to provide more helpful information to Australians about what the threat actually is and what precautions people might take.”

The address comes a day after the release of the report into the Sydney siege, which Mr Abbott said showed that the “system had let down” the community by failing to prevent the fatal incident.

He flagged a redrawing of the line between liberty and security in order to protect Australian lives.

“We need to re-examine the system and ask ourselves at what stage do we need to change the tipping point from protection of the individual to the safety of the community and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” the prime minister said. He signalled that he would toughen immigration procedures, after the siege report revealed that security agencies had raised red flags over gunman Man Haron Monis shortly after he sought asylum in Australia.

Mr Abbott said checks and scrutiny would need to be applied to the granting of visas and citizenship.

“We reach out and embrace people but we can’t endlessly tolerate people who have a lend of us,” Mr Abbott said.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten on Sunday said that the government must "get the balance right" between protecting society and protecting the rights of the individual. – (Guardian service)