January 3, 2025
Friday 3 January 2025
Interview on 2GB Radio
Subjects: Terror attack in New Orleans, Simon Holmes a Court unhinged attack on Scott Morrison
MARK LEVY: Australian authorities are now seeking advice from the US security agencies on what the tragedy means for our safety here at home. And it's left former Home Affairs chief Michael Pezzullo warning that a resurgent Islamic State is exploiting anger over the war in Gaza within Muslim communities and given the divisions which have infiltrated our society, I'd say he may have a point. Meanwhile, the Coalition is warning that the Albanese Government's migration policies, which are seeing thousands of refugees come here without background checks, could open Australia to similar vulnerabilities. So I thought I'd catch up with the Shadow Home Affairs Minister, James Paterson, to walk us through all of this. And I'm pleased to say, he joins me on the line right now. Senator, good morning to you.
JAMES PATERSON: Morning, Mark.
LEVY: It's quite concerning given what we've seen in the United States over the last 24 hours. And I think we're right to in this country be asking, what does this mean for us?
PATERSON: You're right. It's an absolutely tragic terrorist attack in New Orleans in the United States, in the last couple of days. And it shows the very serious damage that a single person can do with a relatively unsophisticated attack. This person is alleged to have rented a truck and then used that as a weapon in a crowded area to maim and kill dozens of people. And unfortunately, people like that who are inspired by extreme ideologies, including that of Islamic State, still exist all around the world, including in Australia and that's one of the reasons why ASIO advised the government to lift the terrorism threat level last year to probable, which in simple terms means that it's more likely than not that there's someone planning or going to engage in a terrorist attack in our country in the next 12 months.
LEVY: And it's the reason why, Senator, that we need to be very, very careful when we talk about the divisions that we're already seeing in this country. And, you know, when we've got Mike Pezzullo and groups like Islamic State saying that, you know, exploiting divisions within Western societies, that's a reason why we need to make sure that we're on top of this sort of thing as well.
PATERSON: That's right. There's absolutely no doubt that many Australians are highly engaged in conflicts around the world, in particular conflicts in the Middle East, and they're entitled to have their own views about those conflicts. But they must engage in any activism relating to those conflicts in a completely peaceful way, not in a violent way. And there is a risk that some people may be inspired by events like that to engage in an act of violence. And we need to make sure that doesn't happen, that doesn't break out here in our country.
LEVY: Are we vulnerable given the migration policies that are in place at the moment under the Albanese Government, given that there are people coming to this country without the necessary background checks.
PATERSON: We always have to be cautious when welcoming anyone to our country, whether for terrorism or crime or other reasons. We have to be conducting rigorous and thorough background checks before we welcome anyone to our country, and I would say particularly if they're coming from a part of the world that is riven by conflict and certainly if it's controlled by a terrorist organisation as Gaza has been. In this particular instance though this New Orleans attacker appears to be a US citizen, born in the US, served in the US Army and in fact became radicalised in more recent years. And that is also an ever present threat, people who show no signs of extremism, no signs of violence, can now be quite quickly radicalised, particularly online, by being exposed to extremist content.
LEVY: And we don't want to alarm people, but I think and what I said off the top of the program, Senator, is, we just need to be vigilant because, you know, these things are real. They are going to happen. And, you know, reading and listening to some of the experts in other countries that are saying, you know, there's this false sense of security that they think Islamic State has been eradicated and eliminated. That's not true. It's still a very real threat.
PATERSON: That's exactly right, Mark. I mean, even though the caliphate itself was destroyed by a coalition of Western allies and others, that doesn't mean that people don't continue to be inspired by it. And actually, the FBI director, Christopher Wray, and other U.S. officials have been warning loudly for about a year that they think there has been increased activity from Islamist extremists in the United States and that a terrorist attack was likely. So those are the kind of [unintelligible] here in Australia, that's why the terrorism threat level has been increased and it's why we need to make sure that our police, our security, and our intelligence agencies are always well resourced and have the powers they need to protect the community.
LEVY: While I've got you, Senator, back here at home. We are leading into a federal election whenever the Prime Minister decides to call that election. But I've said this week that we're starting to get a glimpse into what Australians can expect with these personal attacks. First, it was the Victorian branch of the ALP with that manipulated photo of Peter Dutton and his wife. There was no need for it. And now we've got the backer and funder of the Teals, Simon Holmes a Court tweeting that Scott Morrison is almost as popular as convicted sex offender Rolf Harris. I mean, how offensive's that?
PATERSON: Mark, I feel like people have completely lost their minds over the Christmas and summer break. The first rule in Australian politics is don't attack people's families. Don't use their spouse or their children as part of a political attack. And the second rule of politics should be, please don't compare a politician who you disagree with a convicted child sex offender. I mean, it is in our national interest that Scott Morrison has kept open a strong line of communication with the Trump administration. Whatever people think of President Trump, he is going to govern our most important alliance partner for the next four years. And as far as we know, he's the only Australian who have had that personal contact with him in recent times. Frankly, the Prime Minister should be ringing Scott Morrison to thank him and asking for his insights into the relationship, because Kevin Rudd wasn't invited to be at that New Years Eve party, Scott Morrison was.
LEVY: The other thing it says to me and a lot of my listeners, Senator, is that, you know, the Teals, the Labor Party, if they've got nothing to focus on when it comes to policies in the lead up to an election and talking about how they're going to fix the issues that matter to all Australians, they're going to resort to these personal attacks.
PATERSON: Well that's exactly right. And people might think, who's Simon Holmes a Court? Why do his views matter? Well his views matter because he raised millions of dollars to elect a number of Teal MPs at the last election. He's out there raising money for them again at the next election. He will have enormous influence over their political views. And we could have a hung parliament after the next election. A minority Albanese government would be reliant on the Teals. Do we really want people like Simon Holmes a Court with views like this, exercising influence over our foreign policy or our defence policy? And particularly with the state of the world at the moment, I don't think that's a risk we should be taking.
LEVY: Couldn't agree more. And look, James, you've become one of the powerful voices in the Coalition. I'd encourage you to continue your advocacy for all Australians, especially on the security front, in your role as the Shadow Home Affairs portfolio in this country. You're a good man and I look forward to our chats in 2025.
PATERSON: Likewise Mark, thanks for having me.
ENDS
