The inhumanity of human shields

Foreign Minister Penny Wong was right to champion a new declaration for the protection of humanitarian personnel at the U.N. but the initiative will only be effective if it tackles the threat posed by Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups who use aid workers and other civilians as human shields.

Who takes charge of terrorism?

The terror threat level in Australia has been raised to ‘probable’, but the government responsibilities for managing the threat has become increasingly muddled.

Threat level – Probable

Australia’s terrorism threat level has been raised to ‘probable’ —indicating that the level of risk of a terror attack is greater than 50 percent in the next 12 months.

Victim-blaming, manipulation, and denial

Terrorists justify their violent actions and influence public perceptions of harm and agency by manipulating language according to a new Charles Darwin University study.

Terror in our midst

The fact that unrepentant jihadist and convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika is being released from jail into the community should concern every Australian.

Once a terrorist…

Countering terrorism while preserving essential freedoms isn’t an easy task, but society has a right to expect the state to protect the public against convicted terrorists.

Combating terrorism after COVID-19

The federal government should increase its efforts to prevent radicalisation of disaffected young people in Australia in the wake of COVID-19.

Understanding the impact of Sri Lanka’s Easter bombings

The terror attacks in Sri Lanka that killed more than 300 people on 21 April have exposed the failings and dysfunction of the government in Colombo and the country’s leaders will need to act decisively to stop the attacks from fuelling inter-communal conflicts.

Owning it

After the Christchurch terror attack, there will inevitably be reflection upon the social and political factors that led to the shootings. There needs to be scrutiny of both the online hate speech which contributes to radicalisation and the intelligence failings which allowed such an attack to occur.

Terrorism in Australia in 2019: More of the same?

While there can be no ironclad guarantees, generous resourcing should allow security authorities to remain on top of the situation and prevent group plots from succeeding.

The terror in a label

While the west continues to tackle terrorism abroad and within its own borders, authoritarian and dictatorial regimes are also terming their opponents ‘terrorists’ to justify their own acts of persecution, ethnic cleansing and state-sponsored violence.

Eyes ‘wired’ open: preparing for chemical and biological threats

Is Australia preparing for the threat of chemical weapons, as used by Vladimir Putin’s Russia against dissidents in Britain, the Syrian regime against civilians and threatened by ISIS and other terrorist groups?