SPYING - NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS Peter Dutton: ‘I don’t care where spies come from’ Home Affairs Peter Dutton speaks with members of the Chinese language media during a press conference in Brisbane on Friday. ELIAS VISONTAY REPORTER @EliasVisontay MARCH 1, 2020 The Home Affairs Minister has confirmed spies from China are among a record number of foreign agents in Australia, after ASIO boss Mike Burgess sounded the alarm over an increase in foreign interference. Peter Dutton said spies from China, Iran and Russia were among a swelling group of foreign agents entering or trying to enter the country — the highest number operating on Australian soil since the Cold War. “I don’t care where people come from,” Mr Dutton told the ABC on Sunday. “If we find somebody who is acting against our national interest, outside of the law, then we act against them. “They’re not just from China, they’re from Iran and Russia and elsewhere. I’ll let the ASIO boss provide more detail (on those countries) if he wants.” Mr Burgess, ASIO’s Director-General, last week warned of “hostile ­intelligence services” directly threatening Australians, with the country now being targeted by several foreign governments. He also revealed the ­number of active terrorist leads it was investigating had doubled in the past year and a growing threat from right-wing groups. Mike Burgess, Director-General of Security of Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. Mr Dutton said the government was still considering recommendations from the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security to allow foreign spies to be detained for 24 hours for questioning. “You’re talking about significant powers. There needs to be proper oversight, needs to be judicial oversight. There’s a lot to get right and we’ll work through that.” Asked about his government’s policies to curbing right wing extremism and why he thought the sentiment was growing, Mr Dutton said: “People will be attracted to all sorts of causes, cults, and movements.” Insiders ABC ✔ @InsidersABC .@David_Speers asks @PeterDutton_MP if foreign spies in Australia are mostly from China.@PeterDutton_MP: I don't care where people come from .. if we find somebody who is acting against our national interest, outside of the law then we act against them.#Auspol #Insiders “If you have got that information, if you are reading it, if you’re believing it, if you’re watching it on YouTube, you’re listening to these sermons, then people will fall for that. And we need to make sure that people are educated.” Mr Dutton said did not believe the process for defining terrorist groups needed to be changed in light of ASIO’s concern about right-wing groups. “I think the listing process has served us well for a long period of time. It’s obviously an arduous process in that it needs to go for consultation to the states and territories, to their first officers and it’s signed off by the Prime Minister as well. But I have not rejected advice from ASIO. “I have been criticised for not listing Hezbollah over the course of the last 12 months or so, but the agencies look at all of this and we don’t have a presence in our country of some of these right-wing groups as well.” Insiders ABC ✔ @InsidersABC .@David_Speers is Islamist terrorism left-wing?@PeterDutton_MP: You can put it wherever you like on the spectrum.. I put it in the same lunacy basket as I do those on the right-wing.#Auspol #Insiders On the US-Taliban peace deal, Mr Dutton said he was comfortable that the group would be returning to power in Afghanistan. “Australians have fought alongside our allies for many years in an effort to provide a brighter future for Afghanistan. It’s been an incredibly important effort and if there are troop withdrawals, we’ll work that out with the United States. “I’m comfortable if people aren’t being slaughtered and attacked and that young girls can go to school. “We want to make sure that the Taliban and others abide by the conditions and the intent of the agreement. But we’ll wait for the detail.” https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/peter-dutton-i-dont-care-where-spies-come-from/news-story/9f4be4d8820766ec31e1de33510238f8

Exposing DANGEROUS EXTREME GREEN POLICIES Pauline Hanson calls out the Greens as they mislead the Parliament GREENS MINIMISE THE TRUE THREAT OF ISLAMIC TERRORISM Yesterday the Green's tried to mislead the parliament by suggesting there was a greater risk to Australians from far-right movements than Islamic terrorism. They put up a motion that cherry-picked words from ASIO Director-General, Mike Burgess regarding home grown far-right extremism. The truth was, Mr Burgess stated Islamic Terrorism was in fact the greatest danger to the Australian public. I reminded the Greens of the ASIO Director-General's full statement and corrected the record in the Senate. The Greens will always mislead the Australian public with false information - don't fall for their lies. #Auspol #OneNation #PaulineHanson #Greens #SarahHansonYoung #SHY See less https://www.facebook.com/PaulineHansonAu/videos/652797622155238/