Threat of terrorist attack in australia probable

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Australian authorities believe individuals or groups have the intent and capability to conduct a terrorist attack, which would likely involve low-cost weapons such as knives, according to domestic security advice published on Thursday.

The government issued a two-page summary of its assessment of the risks as it rolled out a new five-tier system for communicating the national terrorism threat level.


From Thursday the government describes the threat as “probable” – compared with the “high” category that had been force under the old four-tier system since September last year.

Police, security chiefs and ministers emphasised the new description did not reflect any increase in Australia’s assessed threat level, but said the new system was intended to help people better understand the nature of the risks.


“There is no change in the reality of the threat between what we faced yesterday and what we we face today,” Duncan Lewis, the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio), said at a media conference on Thursday.

“The threat level has endured since September last year when we elevated the threat. There is the issue, of course, about lone actor versus some form of more concerted effort by a number of actors. We have no evidence to suggest that a Paris-type attack is imminent here at all, but we have seen tragically three lone actor events in this country.”

The three domestic events were a reference to the stabbing of two police officers in Melbourne in September 2014, the deadly siege in Sydney’s Martin Place in December 2014, and the fatal shooting of a police employee in Parramatta in October 2015.

The government released a statement of public advice describing the threat level in more detail. It urged the public to exercise caution and report any suspicious incidents because “credible intelligence, assessed by our security agencies indicates that individuals or groups have developed both the intent and capability to conduct a terrorist attack in Australia”.


The statement said a small number of people in Australia adhered “to an interpretation of Islam that is selective, violent and extreme” and were influenced by extreme messaging from terrorist groups such as Islamic State (Isis). The radicalisation and recruitment of Australians was said to be increasing.


Isis sympathisers and supporters “might be emboldened by the perceived success of their overseas counterparts” in recent, large coordinated terrorist attacks overseas.

“Elements of some of these recent attacks, such as the use of firearms and explosives as weapons, the capturing of hostages, and the focus on ‘soft’ targets, could be employed in an attack in Australia,” the statement said.

In a section on the likely targets, the statement pointed to symbols of government such as the military, police and security agencies, but added that indiscriminate attacks were increasing. Overseas extremists had encouraged local sympathisers to attack the public anywhere.

The most likely form for a terrorist attack in Australia would be an attack by an individual or a small group of like-minded individuals, the statement said.


“However, a larger, more coordinated attack cannot be ruled out. Threats can develop quickly, moving to an act of violence with little preparation or planning,” it said.

“It is highly likely that a terrorist attack in Australia would use weapons and tactics that are low-cost and relatively simple, including basic weapons, explosives and/or firearms.”

The statement said basic weapons were readily available, everyday objects that did not require specialist skills, such as knives, machetes and even cars. This was similar to comments by the former prime minister Tony Abbott that “today’s terrorism requires little more than a camera-phone, a knife and a victim”.

The statement also noted that explosives remained “a favoured terrorist weapon globally”, and could be manufactured from readily available materials. Firearms could also be sourced through legal and illicit channels.

But the statement also sought to assure people that the federal, state and territory governments were working together to strengthen preventive efforts and build social cohesion.


Malcolm Turnbull foreshadowed the imminent rollout of the long-planned five-tier alert system in his national security address on Tuesday, when the prime minister also reinforced his plea for community unity and called for calm and effective action against terrorism rather than anger-fuelled “gestures or machismo”.

The proposal has been in the works since February, when an Abbott-commissioned report said the four-tier system had been in place since 2003 and did not contain enough public alert levels, “making it difficult to raise and lower the alert level in response to a temporarily increased threat environment”.

The four levels in the previous system were: low (meaning that a terrorist attack is not expected), medium (a terrorist attack could occur), high (a terrorist attack is likely) and extreme (a terrorist attack is imminent or has occurred).

The five levels in the new system backed by the Council of Australian Governments in July are: not expected, possible, probable, expected and certain.

The attorney general, George Brandis, said the levels provided “more nuance in the system, particularly at the upper end”. The justice minister, Michael Keenan, said the system would also allow the provision of more information to the public about the nature of the threat.


The Australian federal police commissioner, Andrew Colvin, said state and territory police services would provide more localised information about the security situation.

Asked about the change in rhetoric between Abbott and Turnbull, Colvin said he would not comment on the political narrative but added that “words matter”.

http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/austra...cid=spartandhp


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