Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbot announced that Australia would annul the citizenship or rescind rights of Australians involved in terrorism and enact stricter immigration, visa and hate speech laws, during a speech given Monday morning in Australia's capital, Canberra. This address comes after a 90-page report was released stating that the gunman aligned with Islamic State who held 18 people hostage in a Sydney café in December was reported to security agencies 18 times in the three days leading up to the attack.
"The terrorist threat is rising at home and abroad, and it is becoming harder to combat," Abbott said in his national security address. "By any measure the threat to Australia is worsening."
Abbott's counterterrorism strategy includes measures recommended by the report, such as:
- The appointment of a senior official to head counterterrorism initiatives;
- Coordination with Australia's agencies that conduct surveillance on extremists;
- Stronger laws against hate speech and intimidation;
- Suspension of rights granted by citizenship should an Australian national engage in terrorism, including the right to leave or leave and return to Australia.
"Australian citizenship is an extraordinary privilege that should involve a solemn and lifelong commitment to Australia," Abbott said during his address. "People who come to this country are free to live as they choose - provided they don't steal that same freedom from others."
Changes have to be reviewed as some of them would require rewriting laws, like the Australian Citizenship Act.
Abbott also aims to crack down on persons with dual-citizenship who leave Australia and get support overseas. As of September 2014, 55 Australians who have gone to Iraq and Syria to fight with the Islamic State had been receiving Australian welfare payments. Abbott also said that 140 people in Australia were overtly supporting radical groups and 30 fighters from ISIS have returned to Australia. The Australian Security Intelligence Organization is investigating more than 400 high-priority cases.
"There is always a tradeoff between the rights of an individual and the safety of a community," Abbott said. "We will never sacrifice our freedoms in order to defend them - but we will not let our enemies exploit our decency, either."
Abbott also pleaded with Muslim leaders to condemn extremism. "I have often heard Western leaders describe Islam as the religion of peace," Abbott said. "I wish more Muslim leaders would say that more often, and mean it.
"Everybody, including Muslim community leaders, needs to speak up clearly because, no matter what the grievance, violence against innocents must surely be blasphemy against all religion."
