The Government has released the Review of Australia’s Counter-Terrorism Machinery today.

The Review found that Australia has entered a new, long-term era of heightened terrorism threat, with a much more significant ‘home grown’ element.

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. 

There are at least 90 Australians fighting with and supporting terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. Over 30 foreign fighters have returned to Australia and at least 140 people in Australia are actively supporting extremist groups. Thousands of young and vulnerable people in the community are susceptible to radicalisation. Terrorists are becoming more adept at evading surveillance.

The Review also finds that it is becoming harder to combat terrorism. Extremists’ slick online messages are grooming the socially isolated. Low-tech terrorism, needing little more than a camera-phone, social media account and a knife, means that it is becoming harder to for police and security agencies to anticipate and disrupt attacks

The number of serious investigations also continues to rise. ASIO is currently investigating several thousand leads and persons of concern. Roughly 400 of these are high priority cases, more than double a year ago.

The Review supports the decision to lift the National Terrorist Threat Level on 12 September last year. 

Since then, we have witnessed the frenzied attack on two police officers in Melbourne and the horror of the Martin Place siege. Twenty people have been arrested and charged as a result of six counter terrorism operations conducted around Australia. That’s one third of all terrorism-related arrests since 2001 – all within the space of six months. 

The Review confirmed that Australia has strong, well-coordinated counter-terrorism arrangements and there is no reason to make major structural changes.  

The Government will implement the Review’s recommendations to strengthen the coordination of our agencies, introduce initiatives to counter violent extremism and manage the return of foreign fighters, and implement measures to improve community understanding of the threat level.

The Government will appoint a National Counter Terrorism Coordinator to bring the same drive, focus and results to our counter terrorism efforts that worked so well to stop the boats in Operation Sovereign Borders.

A new national counter-terrorism strategy will be developed, in close cooperation with the states and territories, to better coordinate our efforts to counteract the threats we face including from home grown lone actors and radicalisation in our community.  

We will also develop a new national strategy to counter violent extremism and build community cohesion, which will be considered by COAG later this year.

The Review recommends the current Public Alert System for terrorism warnings be replaced with a simpler and clearer system. 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 Government will separately consider the Review’s options to address long term agency funding as part of the Budget process. In August 2014, the Government announced $632 million in additional funding over the next four years for agencies involved in counter-terrorism. This funding responded to reduced agency expenditure on counter-terrorism since 2009 and supports new programmes to bolster monitoring and disruption activities in Australia and overseas.

All of these steps are about making our counter-terrorism arrangements stronger so that Australians are safer. 

They will significantly improve our counter-terrorism effort, making it more focused and more cohesive. Importantly, they will ensure we are as well placed as possible to tackle the increasing threat of terrorism in Australia. 

We cannot promise that there will be no more attacks. In the current threat environment, our agencies assess that a terrorist attack remains likely. However, this Government will do everything it reasonably can to make Australians safe from terrorism.

The full review can be found at www.dpmc.gov.au/pmc/publication/review-commonwealths-counter-terrorism-arrangements

Two new Green Army projects are coming to Bonner following the announcement of successful projects for Round Two of the important environmental programme, Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta said today.

“I’m pleased to announce two new rehabilitation projects for the Iona Wetlands and Oxbow Wetlands,” Mr Vasta said.

“There are more than 350 Green Army projects set to roll out across Australia in the coming weeks following the announcement of successful Round Two applicants for the Green Army programme.”

Mr Vasta said the two projects will rehabilitate and restore habitat within the Iona Wetlands and Oxbow Wetlands. The project teams will undertake key activities including weed control, brush cutting, herbicide applications, mulching, revegetation establishment, seed collection and propagation, habitat creation using natural materials, as well as monitoring and evaluation of the area.

“The Green Army provides opportunities for young Australians aged 17-24 years to gain training and experience in environmental and conservation fields, and explore careers in conservation management, while participating in projects that generate real benefits for the Australian environment,” Mr Vasta said.

“The Green Army has been an incredible success story for both the environment and those involved. All participants have received training, and many have jobs lined up for when their project finishes.”

Combined with those announced in Round One, 548 Green Army projects have now been announced across Australia.

Mr Vasta said Round 3 of the Green Army programme was now open for applications.

“I encourage eligible community organisations, environment groups and local councils to join this already enormously successful environmental initiative that is delivering real benefits to the Australian environment,” Mr Vasta said.

“Green Army project activities could involve restoring and protecting native habitat, weeding, revegetation, cleaning up waterways, creeks and rivers, fencing, gully remediation, preventing erosion, protecting and conserving heritage places and values, or monitoring and surveying on Indigenous and non-Indigenous lands.”

To be eligible for Round 3, project sponsors must have at least one project ready to begin between 1 June 2015 and 30 June 2016. Applications for Round 3 are open until 17 March 2015.

Further information, project guidelines, the application form and further information on the Programme is available at www.environment.gov.au/green-army.

Young Australians interested in joining the Green Army can apply through the appointed Service Providers for each state and territory. Contact details for Service Providers are available at www.environment.gov.au/land/green-army/service-providers.

Earlier this week, the hostages of the Lindt café, as well as the families of Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson were welcomed to this Parliament.

We acknowledged the atrocity that took place in Sydney’s CBD and we pledged to keep our country as safe and as secure as we humanly can.

Both the Commonwealth and State Governments are currently considering the joint review into the Martin Place siege and we will shortly release the report publicly, along with our response.

We are both determined to learn the lessons of this attack and will promptly take any necessary remedial action. 

I will also be making a national security statement on Monday week.

It’s clear to me, that for too long, we have given those who might be a threat to our country the benefit of the doubt.

There’s been the benefit of the doubt at our borders, the benefit of the doubt for residency, the benefit of the doubt for citizenship and the benefit of the doubt at Centrelink.

And in the courts, there has been bail, when clearly there should have been jail.

We are a free and fair nation. But that doesn’t mean we should let bad people play us for mugs, and all too often they have: Well, that’s going to stop.

The rise of the Islamist death cult in the Middle East has seen the emergence of new threats where any extremist can grab a knife, a flag, a camera phone and a victim and carry out a terror attack.

As a nation we are responding to this threat. Abroad, Australia is working with allies to disrupt and degrade the Islamist death cult. At home, we have provided our security services with more powers, more resources and stronger laws.

We are currently considering additional legislation on data retention that’s before the Parliament – and this will make it easier to keep you safe and we want to get this legislation passed as quickly as we can.

I give you this assurance: As a country, we won’t let evil people exploit our freedom.

I am proud to announce that my second son, Micah Damien Vasta, was born at a healthy 8lbs 7oz, 53cm, on Saturday, 7 February, at 1.40pm.

My wife Fang is doing well, and our son Zachary is overjoyed at the arrival of his new baby brother.

We have received so many kind words from the community. We are blessed to be able to raise our children among such caring people in the electorate of Bonner.

I look forward to returning to work in the coming weeks, doing my utmost to represent other families and the rest of my constituents in my electorate, and getting on with the job of government.

I thank my colleagues and friends in the community for their well wishes and support at this joyous time.

The benefits of a new $476 million Industry Skills Fund will be felt across Bonner, with Australian businesses now able to apply for support to boost the skills of their workforce.

“The fund will provide up to 200,000 training places and skills advice for businesses over the next four years, and is a key element of the Abbott Government’s Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda,” Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta, said today.

“This is a new way of providing support to businesses that need to upskill or retrain their employees to enable their business to grow, diversify, adopt new technologies, or take advantage of new market opportunities.”

Mr Vasta encouraged businesses in Bonner that were part of the advanced manufacturing, food and agribusiness, medical technology, mining equipment, and oil, gas and energy resources, to apply for the Industry Skills Fund.

“Employers in Bonner will be supported to decide what training is needed in their business, and which training provider they want to work with, to boost their business productivity and competitiveness,” Mr Vasta said.  

The Fund will primarily target Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to better position themselves for growth opportunities. A business will be considered as ‘positioning for growth’ if the business falls into one or more of the following categories:

·                Diversifying into new or emerging markets and/or;

·                Adopting new or emerging technologies and/or;

·                Entering export markets for the first time and/or;

·                Responding to signification new domestic market opportunities and/or;

·                Repositioning because of market driven structural adjustment.

“In contrast, Labor wasted billions of dollars on skills programmes that failed to deliver training that led to real jobs – the era of training for training’s sake is over,” Mr Vasta said.

Businesses wanting support to train workers will be required to make a contribution to the cost of training. The co-contribution rate depends on the number of employees, with smaller businesses receiving higher levels of support.

Guidelines and more information are available at www.business.gov.au

Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis, throughout the year.

Young people involved in the Habitat Improvement and Connectivity rehabilitation project in Mansfield have commenced on-ground works as part of the Australian Government’s Green Army, Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta, said today.

Speaking from the project site, Mr Vasta said the Green Army team’s hard work was benefitting the region by restoring habitat and improving connectivity in the area.”

“To date, this team has undertaken extensive plantings and completed the removal of weeds and rubbish to regenerate this area,” Mr Vasta said.

“As this is only one part of this team’s five different locations, they are well along the way to completing this area to schedule, and I commend them for their hard work and enthusiasm.”

Participants will also be undertaking the following work as a part of the project:

– Brush-cutting;

– Identifying native species and priority weeds;

– Controlling weeds;

– Collecting and propagating seeds; and

– Monitoring and evaluation.

“In future, we will see first-hand the benefits and improvements made to our local environment through activities undertaken by the Green Army,” Mr Vasta said.

“These participants will not only be generating real environment and conservation benefits for our community, but they will be gaining valuable practical training and experience to help them prepare for the workforce or further their training and improve their career opportunities.”

The Green Army is a key Government commitment with $525 million budgeted over four years.

The Programme will encourage practical, grassroots action to support local environment and heritage conservation projects across Australia, providing training to 15,000 young Australians by 2018.

This investment in the Green Army will bring the Government's total investment in natural resource management to more than $2 billion over four years.

Further opportunities to join a Green Army project can be found online at www.environment.gov.au/green-army.