Topics: Bondi massacre

 

E&OE

 

TRUDY MACINTOSH:

 

I'm joined by the Shadow Defence Minister, Angus Taylor. Angus, thanks for your time. Very powerful words from the former Treasurer there, your colleague Josh Frydenberg. What was your reaction to his lengthy and emotional contribution today?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Well, it was impassioned, it was emotional, but it was well directed too, Trudy. What he had to say was that the warning signs were there, and yet this government didn't do what it needed to do to avert this kind of outcome. And I think what we need now is responsibility from the Prime Minister, taking responsibility and action. And that is exactly right. There is much the government can do now, should have done in the past. Jillian Segal gave the government a number of very clear recommendations about what they could do. And they have not done those things. They've got to get on with it because the risk here is we see a repeat. Radical Islamism is alive and well in the world today. We see this. It's part of international networks that get to Australia. We need to make sure this does not happen again.

 

TRUDY MACINTOSH:

 

I want to get to that radical Islam point in a moment, but on this politically charged atmosphere that we're in, the Prime Minister went there very early on Monday, one of the first to lay flowers. He hasn't been back since. We saw Tony Burke, the Home Affairs Minister, heckled when he attended late at night. Do you think it's incumbent on politicians to show up at this memorial, even if he is to get a hostile reception, that it's important to front up?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

No, I think it's important always to front up. That's absolutely right, Trudy. And, the reality is that when tragedies like this happen, people expect leaders to play a role in paying tribute to those victims and their families, but also in taking action necessary to avert a repeat, and we are not seeing that responsibility from the Prime Minister. We didn't see the responsibility needed when the warnings were there. I mean, there were many warnings over a long period of time, starting with on the steps of the Opera House on October 9, 2023, just after October 7 in Israel. And, you know, it followed, we saw the graffiti, we saw the firebombing, we saw the synagogue being burnt. I mean, time after time, we saw the warnings. And then we've seen this absolutely tragic outcome and what a tragedy it is for all of those impacted.

 

TRUDY MACINTOSH:

 

What do you think was the number one thing the government could have done to prevent this attack?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Well, there are many things I think that need to be done and could have been done in hindsight and things that Jillian Segal pointed out should be done as well. I mean, I think there are real questions about whether we have the counter-terrorism capability in place right now that we need to have in place, and that's something that should be looked at very closely.

 

These hate preachers, I mean Josh made this point, why are they doing what they're doing? Why are they allowed to continue doing what they're doing? Are we letting people into this country who are spreading this evil ideology? And have we got the security clearances necessary for visas to make sure people aren't getting into this country who are spreading this hate? So, there are many different areas. I could go on, Trudy, but that gives you a sense of some of the areas where I think the government could be acting and should be acting.

 

I mean, in the universities too, for instance, we've seen incredible antisemitism of a dreadful nature continuing, and those universities should be held to account on that.

 

TRUDY MACINTOSH:

 

Do you think it was an intelligence failure that the son, one of the gunmen, was investigated by ASIO six years ago? At the time, he was not deemed to be a threat. And then there appears to have been this subsequent radicalisation, so much so that the Islamic State flags are made, and they commit this horrific attack. Do you think that shows a failure from intelligence authorities, or does it point to the huge caseload that ASIO would be monitoring at the moment of what they deem to have been bigger threats?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Well, they're good questions, Trudy. I don't know the answer to them. And I think they're questions that are going to need to be asked time and time again as we look at the causes of this and how to prevent it from ever happening again. What is clear at this point is that we do need to bolster our counterterrorism capability in this country. I mean, we've seen Labor dismantle the Home Affairs Department that we put together when we were in government and split it into bits. And there are real questions about whether we have the counterterrorism capability we really need as a nation right now, given these threats. And they are very, very real, a real resurgence of radical Islamism since October 2023. I think the world thought it had made huge progress in beating al-Qaeda and ISIS, but it resurged, and I don't know that we are where we need to be to deal with it. We clearly weren't. So, we need to address that.

 

TRUDY MACINTOSH:

 

I noted with interest this morning, the former intel boss, Nick Warner, in The Australian newspaper, warning that Australia's multicultural miracle, in his words, is starting to tear apart. How do we bring that back together, Angus, at a time where there are calls for even tougher migration, limiting numbers, stricter vetting? How do you marry those two things together?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Yeah, it's a good question, Trudy, and an important question, but I think there's a very straightforward answer. We've got to focus back on core Australian values and beliefs. We have a shared set of beliefs. We're a very tolerant nation. But we can't tolerate people who don't believe in democracy, who don't believe in the rule of law, who don't believe in basic freedoms. And that means we need to enforce that. We need to make sure people who come to this country are consistent, have beliefs consistent with those values. I think it's a straightforward proposition that most Australians would accept. And I think as long as we focus back on what it is to be Australian, what we believe in as a country and have done since our formation. I think then it's very clear what we need to do here. That way, we don't get into discrimination or anything like that. We are just for what Australia is all about.

 

TRUDY MACINTOSH:

 

The New South Wales Premier recalling Parliament next week so they can take urgent actions. At this stage, the Federal Parliament isn't coming back. I spoke to Minister Chris Bowen last hour and he said it would come back if there was urgent legislation and that would be the only reason. Do you think it needs to come back before Christmas?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

We stand ready to do whatever is necessary to take action to prevent a repeat of what we have seen. This cannot be allowed to happen again. We know from history that there's always a risk of copycats, and we have to take any action necessary to prevent that from happening, Trudy. And if that means we've got to go back to the Parliament, we should go back to the Parliament. We need to see Jillian Segal's recommendations implemented. We need to make sure that the hate preaching that we know has been part, at least of the history of this event, needs to be dealt with. We need to make sure that there are appropriate security clearances around people coming into the country. All of these things need to be done and they need to be done fast.

 

TRUDY MACINTOSH:

 

Shadow Defence Minister Angus Taylor, always appreciate your time. Thank you.

 

 

ENDS.