Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The government has not revealed the countries on the list but security experts believe that Indonesia may also be a country of concern.
The counter-terrorism white paper unveiled today by Kevin Rudd also reveals the growing threat of home-grown terrorism, a threat that will be tackled through a counter-terrorism control centre to increase coordination across government agencies.
Despite fears the new visa arrangements could trigger diplomatic tensions, the Prime Minister said it was in the interests of national security.
Mr Rudd said Australia would introduce biometric checks for visa applicants from countries thought to pose a security threat to Australia.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith conceded the enhanced visa processing arrangements - to be introduced at a cost of $69 million over four years - may require Australia to engage in a diplomatic effort with the nominated countries.
“So far as the enhanced visa processing arrangements are concerned, we expect the rollout to be in about 10 countries. We're not of course identifying those countries until the actual rollout occurs,” Mr Smith said.
Dr Carl Ungerer, Director of the National Security Project at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the majority of countries on the list would be “from South Asia and North Africa”.
“There may be one or two countries from South-East Asia,” he said.
Dr Ungerer also said Indonesia remained a “country of concern” and did not rule it being named on the list. Dr Ungerer noted the bulk of Australians killed by terrorists were killed in Indonesia.
“Therefore you'd have to say that it was one of those countries that the government would have to look at,” he said.
Somalia and Yemen were very likely to feature on the list, according to Dr Ungerer.
“I think when you read the white paper and its emphasis on Somalia and Yemen, I think it's highly likely that those two countries would feature on the new list,” he said.
The US has also renewed its focus on Yemen as it emerges as a new front in the war on terror and haven for foreign extremists and militants.
Mr Rudd warned that Australia was a terrorist target, could fall victim to a terrorist attack at any time and suffered an increased risk from home-grown terrorist activity.
“Terrorism continues to pose a serious threat and serious challenge to Australia's security interests. That threat is not diminishing,” he said.
Since 2001 in Australia 38 people have been prosecuted as a result of counter-terrorism operations, 20 have been convicted of terrorism offences under the criminal code and over 40 Australians have had their passports revoked or denied for reasons relating to terrorism.
“Some of the threat we now face comes from the Australian born, the Australian educated and Australian residents,” Mr Rudd said.
Mr Rudd said the white paper had been informed by events in the US on December 25 last year when a man attempted to set off an explosive aboard a commercial airliner travelling to Detroit.
Source: The Australian
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