New laws making it easier to arrest suspected terrorists, detain them without charge and revoke their passports are to go before Parliament in the biggest overhaul of Australia’s anti-terror laws in a decade.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the laws were being introduced in response to fears that Australians fighting alongside Muslim extremists in Syria and Iraq would return and mount terrorist attacks.
Australians will also face being scanned as they fly in and out of the country as biometric screening, including facial recognition technology, is rolled out at airports.
The Government will pour an extra $630 million into intelligence and counter-terrorism organisations such as ASIO and the federal police, to boost their monitoring of jihadists.
“We’re also determined to engage in closer consultation with communities, including the Australian Muslim community. When it comes to counter-terrorism, everyone needs to be part of Team Australia,” the PM said.
The laws include controversial proposals that will reverse the onus of proof on those who travel to designated terrorism zones.
Those travellers would be required to prove a legitimate reason for travel, such as for humanitarian purposes.
The threshold for arresting terrorist suspects without a warrant will be lowered; the AFP will be given extended stop, search and seizure powers; and ASIO will get further powers to seek suspension of a passport, including a foreign passport of a dual national.
The Government also plans to require telcos to store people’s electronic metadata for two years.
“The terrorism threat in this country has not changed. Nevertheless, it is as high as it’s ever been,” Mr Abbott said.
“As a result, the Government is determined to take a series of measures to strengthen our security and intelligence organisations.”
He said existing monitoring and watchdog agencies would ensure intelligence agencies did not overstep the mark.
Attorney-General George Brandis said other changes included altering the definition of conduct proscribed as terrorist conduct; expanding the definition of “armed hostilities"; and having the Minister for Foreign Affairs certify specific areas where people would be deemed to have committed an offence unless they could explain why they went there.
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said the domestic security threat posed by Australian jihadists was serious.
“Prior to the NATO-led experience in Afghanistan, our security agencies were aware of 30 Australian citizens in Afghanistan fighting against ... the West,” she said.
“Twenty-five of them came back to Australia and 23 of those were thereafter involved in terrorist activity. Five times that number are now of interest to Australian intelligence and security agencies.”
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said: “Australians who travel overseas to fight for terrorist causes could feel the strongest weight of the law.”