ASIO Director Mike Burgess confirms fighting anti-Semitism as Australia's leading threat to life

West Australian

3 days ago

Fighting anti-Semitism remains the top priority for Australia's intelligence agency in terms of threats to life, the nation's spy chief Mike Burgess has confirmed.
'Unfortunately, it's something we're still working hard on,' Mr Burgess, the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), said on Friday morning.
Mr Burgess praised the 'great progress' made by counter-terrorism teams after a second man was arrested this week in relation to the arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne in December during a spike in anti-Semitic incidents.
But he added that, 'we still have open lines of investigations getting behind what was driving this behaviour.'
In February, Mr Burgess revealed to a Senate committee that a form of racism had for the first time become the agency's number one priority 'because of the weight of incidents we're seeing play out in this country.'
At the time, he requested patience to allow the security services to 'do our job' in investigations that 'take time.'
On Friday, he again appealed to the public to refrain from 'inflamed language' around the 'emotive issues' of the Middle East crisis.
'We know people protest, and they have a right to protest. How we behave, though, does matter. Our use of language. Inflamed language leads to inflamed tension that can lead to violence,' Mr Burgess told ABC radio.
'How you engage in that debate or protest actually does make a difference.
'Sadly, there are a small number of Australians who have chosen to plan violence around protests or attack places of worship or intimidate and threaten people, burn cars. That behaviour is totally unacceptable.'
The ASIO boss would not be drawn on suggestions that the granting of Palestinian statehood could unleash more violence in the Middle East or in Australia.
The Albanese Government this week has faced pressure to follow in the footsteps of Five Eyes partners, the UK and Canada, who have both signalled the intention to recognise a Palestinian state in September.
Britain announced it would recognise Palestine unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza, stopped building settlements in the West Bank and committed to a two-state solution.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa's move would be based on the Palestinian Authority's commitment to reforms, including the holding of a general election next year that would exclude the participation of terrorist organisation Hamas.
Australia's Government has said it was a matter of 'when, not if' it recognised Palestinian statehood but Anthony Albanese has said Canberra would follow its own timeline and had set its own conditions for making the decision.
'The decision to recognise (Palestine) on the path to two states being created would make a positive difference … but in order for that to be achieved there needs to be security for the state of Israel,' he told ABC's 7.30 program on Thursday night.
Home Minister Tony Burke doubled down on the Government's position on Friday.
'We have always supported a two-state solution, which means a situation where both Israel and Palestine are recognized as states and both operate in a secure way for the security of their people,' he said in an ABC interview.
'It's an announcement you only get to make once, and we are wanting to make sure that whatever we do is done in a way that most helps to bring about a lasting peace and to deal with the horrific situation that we're seeing on our screens.'
Mr Burke also responded to a warning in a speech by the ASIO chief in Adelaide on Thursday night that $12.5 billion had been lost to the Australian economy due to a sharp rise in foreign espionage, urging more awareness of the threats.
The Home Minister pointed out that 'tens of billions had also been saved because of our actions' but that people had to stay 'clear-eyed' about the risk.
Mr Burgess also warned officials, and the business community were still making it 'too easy' for foreign intelligence agencies on social media, with more than 35,000 Australians indicating on one professional networking site that they had access to sensitive and potentially classified information.
He confirmed it would soon become a condition for individuals who hold an ASIO security clearance that they cannon post about it on social media.
'I raised this issue two years ago, and we have seen substantial progress. However, I raise it again, because it does make my head spin a little. It is not naive. It's recklessly inviting the intention of a Foreign Intelligence Service.'