The Zionist Federation of Australia made a submission to the important Parliamentary inquiry on extremism and radicalisation in Australia. We recommended that the government changes terrorism legislation to close a loophole allowing organisations to associate with terrorists.
The Parliamentary inquiry is being conducted by the Intelligence and Review Committee, which also reviews the proscription of terrorist organisations.
The inquiry’s terms of reference can be found here.
The ZFA identified a loophole in Australian counter-terrorism legislation. Australian counter-terrorism law casts a wide net over the terrorism-related activity of individuals, including a prohibition against associating with a proscribed terrorist organisation.
However, the Criminal Code does not prohibit an organisation from associating with a terrorist organisation.
The ZFA recommended in its submission that any organisation that willingly and knowingly associates with a proscribed terrorist organisation (in order to help that organisation) should itself be proscribed. This is the practice of Canada, New Zealand and the United States.
A likely outcome of such a change would see the entirety of Hezbollah proscribed in Australia. Australia currently makes a false distinction between one wing of Hezbollah (it’s ‘External Security Organisation’, which is proscribed) and the rest of the organisation. Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States all proscribe the entirety of Hezbollah.
The ZFA has also recommended that the Australian Government takes a more holistic approach to countering terrorism. Terrorism is a global phenomenon. As we discovered to our horror in 2019, an individual who became radicalised in Australia killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand. We are also concerned that people who become radicalised abroad might conduct terrorism in Australia or against Australian nationals.
Because of this, the ZFA recommended that when the Australian Government determines whether or not to proscribe an organisation, it should consider whether doing so would aid in our foreign partners’ fights against terrorism, even if that organisation does not pose a direct threat to Australia or Australian nationals. This is the practice of the United Kingdom.
A possible outcome of such a change would be the proscription of right-wing extremist group the Proud Boys, which is proscribed in Canada.
ZFA President Jeremy Leibler said of the submission, “This is a focused submission that seeks to close a hole in Australian counter-terrorism legislation and, in doing so, will restrict the operational environment of terrorists everywhere.”
The ZFA submission can be read here.