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Terror laws ‘must evolve’ – PM

Attorney-General George Brandis says the extensions will be generous. Photo: AAP

Attorney-General George Brandis says the extensions will be generous. Photo: AAP

The Abbott government will introduce further legislation to restrict the movement and communications of suspected terrorists after a string of recent arrests, and to counter the Islamic State narrative in cyber space.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed the new legislation on Friday, which will refine laws around control orders, will be introduced later in the year to match the evolving terror threat.

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“They are always trying to work out new ways of escaping the attention of our police and security agencies, and our job is to try to be one step ahead of them and that’s why, as the threat evolves, the legislation must evolve with it,” Mr Abbott said in Melbourne.

The plan to unveil yet more counter-terror laws was announced on Friday by Attorney-General George Brandis at a summit in Sydney on countering violent extremism.

Attorney-General George Brandis speaks. Photo: AAP

Attorney-General George Brandis speaks. Photo: AAP

The government will seek to refine laws that allow authorities to impose tight conditions on individuals, including restricting travel and limiting communications – including online – with others.

The threshold for control orders – which can be requested by the Australian Federal Police – was lowered last year, but an increase in the number of arrests and counter-terror operations have prompted the government to reconsider whether they need to be strengthened.

Between 2001 and September 2014, 23 Australians were convicted of terrorism-related offences under the criminal code.

But Senator Brandis said that since Australia’s terror threat level was raised to high in September 2014, an additional 23 Australians have been charged as a result of eight counter-terrorism operations.

He told delegates from 27 nations that one of the biggest challenges they faced in fighting extremism was terrorist propaganda from groups such as Islamic State, or ISIL, spread online and via social media.

At the conclusion of the two-day summit, Senator Brandis said the important outcome was that delegates were ready to embrace a regional framework for countering violent extremism.

A communique agreed to by delegates referred to five outcomes, including bolstering the role of communities in challenging terrorist propaganda, and building the capability of grass roots organisations to “elevate non-extremist voices”.

Senator Brandis said more must be done to engage with young Muslims by highlighting Muslim role models.

“We are going to expose ISIL for what it is in the minds of the young, particularly through social media, and we are going to counter their false narrative with the narrative of … the journey of heroes,” Senator Brandis said.

But even as the summit was taking place, the man regarded as Australia’s top recruiter for Islamic State, Neil Prakash, tweeted “you think you can lock away our brothers and sisters so freely? By Allah, you will not feel safety until acceptance of the truth”.

The deputy assistant secretary for digital strategy with the US State Department, Moira Whelan, said that “of the 1.7 billion Muslims in the world, 1.6 billion have rejected ISIL’s claims”.

But there was a small percentage “going home every day pushing these videos and images and things like that and we have to contest that space,” she told AAP.

– AAP

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