Review Of Australias Counter Terrorism Machinery Hardcopy

The Commonwealth has strong, well-coordinated counter-terrorism (CT) arrangements. Overall, these have been quite successful, although the Martin Place siege and the stabbing of police in Melbourne raise questions. Despite improvements in CT capability, a terrorist attack is possible. All of the terrorism-related metrics are worsening: known numbers of foreign fighters, sympathisers and supporters, serious investigations. We are not 'winning' on any front. Every dollar must be spent wisely. We face a new paradigm that demands ever more careful prioritisation. National security agencies must come together seamlessly around shared priorities. A restructure or reshuffle of national security agencies is not the answer. But more must be done to strengthen cross-agency coordination and leadership. Whatever we do, there is no short-term solution to our evolving terrorist challenge. It is almost inevitable that we will have more terrorist attacks on Australian soil. Long term, we must put a greater effort into reducing, rather than managing, the pool of terrorists, their supporters and sympathisers.