Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Director-General Mike Burgess has warned acts of political violence are “more likely” than before.
In a speech at an event hosted by Australian think tank the Lowy Institute, Burgess discussed security threats like espionage, foreign interference, and internet radicalisation.
He said these issues are putting Australia’s “community cohesion... under attack.”
Background
Each year, the Lowy Institute invites a “prominent individual” to speak about “Australia’s role in the world and the world’s influence on Australia.”
Past speakers at the Institute include former world leaders U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Every Australian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister has spoken at the Institute since its foundation in 2003.
Details
In his speech on Tuesday night, Burgess said: “Australia has never faced so many different threats… at scale… at once.”
Burgess sorted the cohorts behind these threats into three groups: “the aggrieved” (individuals), “the opportunistic” (organisations), and “the cunning” (countries).
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Looking at the threat of other nations, he said ASIO “believe[s] there are at least three nations willing and capable” of “assassinat[ing] a perceived dissident in Australia.”
Burgess raised examples, such as
ASIO identifying the “Iranian Regime” was behind two antisemitic attacks this year.
Russia was also singled-out, with Burgess suggesting “operatives are covertly... amplifying division here”.
After the speech, Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove asked Burgess about his exclusion of China, to which he said, “how do you know I wasn’t talking about things China did?”
Response
In response to these threats, Burgess said national security is “everybody’s business” and that “our words, our decisions, our actions matter.”
He warned that Australians are engaging and acting on online content “accelerating extremism and radicalisation”.
However, Burgess said Australians “can and should have confidence in our ability to respond [to threats].”
