August 7, 2024
The Albanese government is under pressure to boost funding for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation to combat the twin threats of rising extremism and foreign espionage, after director-general Mike Burgess warned the agency's resources were ''stretched''.
After ASIO raised the nation's alert level for a terror attack from possible to probable on Monday, Mr Burgess said politically motivated violence now ranked alongside espionage as Australia's dominant security concerns.
Whereas Sunni Islam extremism was the focus when the terror alert was set at probable between 2014 and 2022, Mr Burgess said the threat environment was now more complex, with issues such as the backlash to COVID- 19 restrictions, anger over the Gaza conflict, conspiracy theories, racism and economic hardship fomenting a hybrid of grievances.
As the terror threat eased in recent years, ASIO's focus had pivoted, with Mr Burgess previously saying the level of espionage and foreign interference in Australia was at an unprecedentedly high level.
''We are stretched but if I needed more money, you would appreciate I would ask that in private,'' Mr Burgess told the ABC on Monday night.
''Our job is to make sure we have the laws and resources to do our job, and we are stretched is all I want to say publicly.'' Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson demanded the Albanese government ensure ASIO had the resources needed to meet the security challenges of the era.
''ASIO is our first line of defence against domestic security threats. It is concerning to learn they are stretched at a time we are seeing an increased threat of terrorism and persistent attempts to undermine our democracy through foreign interference and espionage,'' he said yesterday.
''Shuffling ASIO between portfolios doesn't make us safer, only adequate resources for their critical mission will do so.'' Australian Strategic Policy Institute chief Justin Bassi, national security adviser to former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, said Mr Burgess' warnings about ASIO being stretched was a significant intervention, given security chiefs usually eschew commenting publicly on resources to preserve a sense of calm.
While all agencies would always want more resources, Mr Bassi said, the multitude of threats and global instability meant there was a strong case to boost ASIO's funding, which this year was $532 million.
''Instead of having a clear top priority, we seemingly now have two number one priorities,'' Mr Bassi said yesterday, adding this had crimped ASIO's ability to shuffle staff between espionage and terrorism investigations.
Meanwhile,Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Iran's ambassador to Australia had been dressed down face-to-face by a senior Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade official over a social media post calling for Israel's destruction.
Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi posted on social media platform X that the ''Zionist plague'' that was Israel should be wiped out of the ''holy lands of Palestine'' by 2027.
While Mr Sadeghi enjoys diplomatic immunity, the opposition has called for the envoy to be investigated for contravening local hate speech laws or expelled from Australia.
''There's no place for the sort of comments that were made online in social media by the Iranian ambassador. They're abhorrent. And they are hateful, they are antisemitic, and they have no place,'' Mr Albanese said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton urged the government to rethink funding for the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency, known as UNRWA, after the UN fired nine workers for alleged involvement in Hamas' terror attacks against Israel in 2015.
''We were given assurances upfront that nobody was involved in the October 7 atrocities and this is a complete breach of faith. I think people are rightly angry because we're talking about taxpayers' dollars here,'' Mr Dutton said.
Mr Albanese said it was a ''good thing'' the UN had fired the aid workers. Australia paused $6 million in funding for UNRWA this year after Israel claimed employees had been complicit in the attack, but later unfroze the funds.
