"Words matter": Why Australia's threat level was just raised to "probable"
Anthony Albanese has announced that Australia's terror level has been raised in the wake of spy agency warnings.
The Prime Minister announced the change from “possible to probable” on Monday morning at a press conference in Canberra with ASIO director-general Mike Burgess.
“ASIO is raising the national terrorist and threat level from possible to probable," Mr Burgess said.
“Our decision reflects that the security environment is degrading. A threat level of probable is reassessed as a greater than 50 per cent chance of attack planning in the next 12 months."
“It does not mean that we have intelligence about the current attack planning or expectation of an imminent attack."
The National Terrorism Threat Advisory System has a scale of five levels, beginning with Not Expected, Possible, Probable, before rising to Expected and Certain.
Mr Burgess said the decision was not taken easily, as he explained, “Our decision is not a direct response to the tragic events in the Middle East. At this stage we do not believe any of the terrorist plots we have investigated in the last year have been inspired by Gaza."
“Terrorist leaders offshore are not inspiring attacks onshore. This is why we did not raise the threat level in the immediate aftermath of 7 October.”
Mr Albanese said the decision follows a cabinet meeting today and briefings by spy agencies.
“My government’s first priority is the safety and security of Australians and this morning, I convened a national-security committee meeting to hear from the director-general," Mr Albanese said.
“I want to reassure Australians that probable does not mean inevitable and it does not mean it is intelligence about an imminent threat or danger. But the advice that we have received is that more Australians are embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies and it is our responsibility to be vigilant.
Mr Burgess said it did not mean there was any imminent threat of a terrorist attack in Australia, but said it was about being vigilant and prepared.
“Australia’s security environment is more volatile and more unpredictable, you’ve heard me say many times of espionage and foreign interference, our principal security concerns,’’ he said.
“While the threats to our way of life are elevated we are seeing an increase in extremism, more Australians are being radicalised and radicalised more quickly. More Australians are embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies and more Australians are willing to use violence to advance their cause."
In response to a question from the media on the Greens, who recently accused the Labor Party of being implicit in genocide when it comes to the war in Palestine, the Prime Minister said some of the rhetoric was of concern.
“Words matter and it is important that people engage in a way that is respectful, that people don’t make claims that they know are not right in order to try to secure some short-term political advantage,’’ he said.
Concluding the press conference, Mr Burgess said it is up to every Australian to say vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour.
He said, "This is a matter for everyone, community leaders, politicians, the media, watch your words, watch your actions. Be very careful about that because there is a direct correlation between inflamed language and inflamed tension and violence.”
Image credits: LUKAS COCH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Editorial