ASIO boss Mike Burgess has found himself ensnared in the political dispute over security screening of refugees.
It’s a fair bet ASIO boss Mike Burgess might be regretting at least one part of his appearance on ABC TV’sMost of the exchange was uncontroversial, albeit revealing, especially in relation to the increasingly chaotic and hybrid nature of the threats which the spy agency is trying to stay on top of.
Yet, as this same long-time insider lamented, “there is a degree of nuance here which politicians and commentators are just not interested in”.over whether enough is being done to screen Gazans seeking safety here from the Israeli onslaught, launched in response to the October 7 attacks.this week “I don’t think it’s good practice for senior officials, however competent, in sensitive positions to be engaging in general political debate on chat shows.
Justin Bassi, the head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute , says it’s a “judgment issue the extent to which intelligence agency heads should speak ”.It’s critical, he says, in an era when faith in institutions has nosedived and with online disinformation proliferating that “governments and their chief officials … keep the public informed in a way that only 15, 20 years ago unnecessary.
ASPI’s John Coyne, an expert in policing and counterterrorism, also considers the raising of the threat level “probably somewhat overdue”. But he says getting the timing right is “always challenging … if you raise too soon you are viewed as being hawkish about security, if you raise it too late and there is an attack then you have got issues in relation to not warning the public. So it’s incredibly difficult.
A recurrent theme in Burgess’ recent appearances has been the extreme youth of some radicalised individuals. Since April, ASIO has investigated eight “attacks or disruptions that have either involved alleged terrorism or have been investigated as potential acts of terrorism”, Burgess said this month. Five involved minors, the youngest 14.
There was a heavy police presence in Wakeley in the aftermath of the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel on April 15.he spoke more broadly of “religiously motivated violent extremism” remaining the “principal or dominant force in our caseload” while being at pains to stress the vast majority of people of Islamic faith “are not the problem”.
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