Malcolm Turnbull hosting national summit to counter extremism
The National Summit organised by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to counter terrorism is currently being held in Canberra.
The summit is led by Greg Moriarty, former ambassador to Indonesia. Moriarty was appointed as Australia’s first counter-terrorism coordinator earlier this year. In the meeting, he promoted the prevention of people to become a terrorist as the most effective defence against terrorism, reports The Australian. Turnbull also asked the Australian community to work together in order to solve terrorism threats.
The meeting is attended by senior security officials including NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, Victoria's Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin. ASIO head Duncan Lewis is also present.
The output of the summit will be discussed and considered at the next session of the Council of Australian Governments meeting.
Education officials are also present to help discuss the challenge of youth radicalisation, Justice Minister Michael Keenan said.
The absence of the Muslim community representative was noted and was defended by Keenan by noting that the summit is “more about coordinating security, policing and education programs across the country.
The national summit is the first of many steps as there is no quick solution when battling youth radicalisation as violent extremism is a complex issues, Deputy Victorian commissioner Shane Patton told ABC Radio. Patton added that re-radicalisation process can take months or years.
Patton sees the summit as an opportunity to discuss practical initiatives and identify what works best in different communities.
Meanwhile, terrorism in Australia with the youth involved is getting worse, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin admitted on ABC’s 7.30. A 12-year-old boy is being watched by the police as he alleged has links to the extremist group of Cheng’s killer, 15-year-old Farhad Jabar.
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